


And Whatever Differences Our Lives Have Been, We Together Make A Limb

by cloudwatch



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Falling In Love, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7039852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudwatch/pseuds/cloudwatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"After verification of the consummation, you two will be taken by carriage to where you’ll be spending your honeymoon. I’ve personally picked out the place you’ll be visiting and -”</p><p>Takumi dropped his hand from Ryoma’s, staring at Ryoma with a look of horror on his face. “Verification of the consummation?” he nearly screeched. In his anger about his arranged marriage he’d completely skipped over the fact that they had to actually consummate it. “Oh Gods,” he mumbled, sitting down hard on his bed with his head in his hands. “Why me?"</p><p>AU where Takumi and Leo are placed into an arranged marriage. For politics.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> someone should stop me while i'm ahead. i just wanted to write a dumb little story about leo and takumi in an arranged marriage and this popped out. i'm apologizing in advance. 
> 
> title is from the song [red right ankle by the decemberists ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axkyYrismAw)
> 
> any typos are mine \o
> 
> (also note, two things
> 
> one: when garon died anankos kicked the bucket too, because reasons, and two: i am incapable of writing these losers being antagonistic towards each other, they just want to befriends and also in love and disgustingly cute so... we're kicking off this journey with AWKWARD FRIENDSHIP. i mean, they were only being mean to each other for like... what, a week before they gave in and started being friends? nerds.)
> 
> as a warning, i wanted to also state that leo is in a little pain and also sore after their consummation

“Big brother? Will you tell me a s-story?”

 

“Any story?”

 

“Yes, j-just to pass the time.”

 

“Okay, I will. Once upon a time, there was a prince who, before he'd had the chance to fully grow up, was promised to another against his will and at the age of seventeen, when he should be have been working with his older brother, the King of his nation, on creating an amazing kingdom, he is instead being forced to get _married_ to someone he’s never even _met_ before for ‘the good of the kingdom, Takumi, we will benefit from this’. The only way we’ll benefit from this is if I don’t kill my soon-to-be spouse the day after my _wedding._ ”

 

There was a pause. “That’s not a very nice story…”

 

Takumi dropped the comb he’d been forcefully running through his hair to his lap. He crossed his legs, dropped his elbows to his knees, and then pressed his cheek against his left fist. “I know it’s not a nice story, because it’s my actual reality.” He puffed up his cheeks and blew out the air, aimed up at his bangs; the fluttered in the air for a moment before dropping right back into his eyes. “I still don’t understand how my ‘union with the youngest brother of Nohr’ will help build trust between our two nations?”

 

“Because,” came Ryoma’s voice from his door, and Takumi’s frown deepened, “it will show that it really is possible to get along with each other, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to murder your husband the day after your wedding.”

 

Takumi tossed the black ribbon he’d picked on to his bedding, then reached for the white one that he was supposed to be wearing for his wedding. “I didn’t mean it as something I’d _seriously_ considered,” he stated, not mentioning the fact that it had at least been something he’d thought about idly, late at night when he was alone. He didn’t know what Prince Leo of Nohr looked like, aside from the fact that he was blond, and his dreams often involved a faceless blond man being tossed casually off a cliff, from a horse, or even being at the end of his Fujin Yumi. But those were just dreams, when Takumi was feeling incredibly angry about his arranged marriage; they didn’t often come, because Takumi knew deep down that it really was for the best of Hoshido and the delicate peace treaty with Nohr. It didn’t mean that he had to be happy about it, though he'd warmed up a _little_ to the idea, knowing that as his older brother, Ryoma would never intentionally put him into a horrible situation.

 

Ryoma fully entered the room, the door shutting behind him. Takumi ignored him as he threw the white ribbon over his shoulder and snatched his normal red one and quickly tied his hair up. Subtle rebellion. Behind him, Ryoma whispered something to Sakura, who quietly exited the room. Once she was gone, Takumi let out a sigh and turned to face his older brother _And King,_ he reminded himself quickly so that his frown wouldn’t take over his entire face.

 

Ryoma sat in front of him, forcing Takumi to lower himself to the same level; kneeling in front of each other, Ryoma reached forward and placed a hand on Takumi’s shoulder, a gentle smile on his face. “With everything that is going on, I don’t believe I’ve told you how proud I am of you, Takumi.”

 

Takumi blinked. _Well._

 

Ryoma continued. “This is… not what you expected when I first announced that we would be making an alliance with Nohr."

 

“No, it definitely _was not_.”

 

“I’ve seen how you’ve been dealing with this marriage, and before we head over to the to begin the wedding, I just wanted to tell you that I have never been more proud of you than I am at this moment.”

 

Takumi blinked the tears he felt forming back. He was _not_ going to cry, not before he had to go stand in front of a priest, say _wedding vows_ (a Nohrian wedding tradition that they had to put into the wedding, because it was only _polite_ ) to his _Nohrian husband_. He was going to go into this wedding looking as put together as possible. Instead of allowing the tears to fall, he placed his hand on top of Ryoma’s and squeezed. “Thank you, brother. That means a lot.”

 

Ryoma’s smile grew, and then his face took on a serious look. “I will not be able to talk to you much after until the reception and I wanted to say one more thing, about after the wedding. After verification of the consummation, you two will be taken by carriage to where you’ll be spending your honeymoon. I’ve personally picked out the place you’ll be visiting and -”

 

Takumi dropped his hand from Ryoma’s, staring at Ryoma with a look of horror on his face. “ _V_ _erification of the consummation_?” he nearly screeched. In his anger about his arranged marriage he’d completely skipped over the fact that they had to actually _consummate_ it. “Oh Gods,” he mumbled, sitting down hard on his bed with his head in his hands. “Why me?

 

Ryoma looked like he was going to say something else, but the moment he opened his mouth there was a knock at Takumi’s door. “Yes?” Ryoma said instead, his eyes focused on Takumi.

 

“It’s time,” came the response, and Takumi couldn’t help the shaky breath that left his mouth.

 

“Very well, we will be on our way.”

 

Takumi stood and ran his fingers through his bangs. “I am ready,” he said to Ryoma; it was said mostly to gather up his courage. He was about to become a married man, to the second Prince of Nohr, for the good of Hoshido. He was going to have to kiss Prince Leo of Nohr for the good of Hoshido. He was going to have to _have sex_ with _Prince Leo of Nohr_ for the _good of Hoshido_.

 

 _Please, Prince Leo of Nohr, don’t be ugly_ , he thought as he and Ryoma left his room. At this point, it was all that he could hope for.

 

***

 

Three months ago was when Takumi was given the news that he was being put into an arranged marriage with the second Prince of Hoshido. He’d been summoned to Ryoma’s chambers, where Ryoma had given him the news, and before Takumi could even say anything Ryoma had gone on a lengthy rant about how a wedding between Takumi and this Prince of Nohr would show that Nohr could be trusted; it would build morale in the nation and help the delicacy of the peace treaty and alliance with Nohr. He’d tapped into Takumi’s sense of duty to his nation, and by the end of the meeting, he had known that he wouldn’t be fighting the arrangement at all, even though he really wanted to. For the longest time, Hoshido had believed that they’d enter a full on bloody war with Nohr at any moment, but then King Garon of Nohr had died and Xander had taken the throne. Takumi had met Xander once, and after that meeting, he’d come to understand that Nohr was in better hands and he did not have to fear invasion. He didn’t know the full details of the meeting Ryoma had had with the new King of Nohr, but Ryoma had been satisfied. If Ryoma was satisfied, then so was he.

 

It had been hard, watching the new King of Nohr enter Hoshido, especially after the death of their mother, but Takumi had forced his anger down, and when Xander had paid his respect to their mother’s grave, he’d seemed completely sincere and Takumi had been forced to reevaluate his initial thoughts of the new King. The treaty, after that meeting, had been going well, until the people of Hoshido began voicing doubts about aligning with Nohr, and those worries were where Takumi figured his brother had gotten the idea for the arranged marriage. Why he’d picked Takumi, he’d never understand.

 

After he’d been dismissed from Ryoma’s study, he’d been given permission to inform his retainers about what was going on the next morning, before they announced the marriage to the people of Hoshido. He honestly didn’t know what to tell them. The story that was to be told with the announcement of the marriage was that during one of the peace treaty meetings held at Cyrkensia Takumi had met Prince Leo and had been immediately interested. They had continued to keep in touch with letters, and during one of the final meetings discussing the treaty and alliance, they had become engaged.

 

Takumi honestly tried to sell that story to his retainers, but they were more than just his retainers; they were his closest friends and immediately knew that he’d been lying. Or, Oboro had known he was lying from the get go. It took Hinata a moment. Oboro had not liked the fact that he was getting married, or more specifically, that he was getting married to someone from _Nohr_. She’d asked if there was any way for Takumi to get out of it, but with each option she threw out he shook his head.

 

“I have a duty to my King,” he told her, “to Hoshido, and this is the best way to help show that Hoshido is staying true to keeping the peace with Nohr.”

 

It didn’t mean that he had to _like_ it.

 

Once the news had been spread, dealing with the members of the council became unbearable, with a few of them trying to shove their children at Takumi as a potential concubine, or in hopes that before the wedding Takumi would fall in love with their son or daughter and break off his engagement with Prince Leo. The only thing that helped was knowing that none of the council members would have been doing that if they didn’t believe the story that was being sold about Takumi really being in love with Leo.

 

The details of the wedding were finalized a week before Leo was to arrive in Hoshido; Leo was to live in Hoshido, as yet another sign of trust on Nohr’s end. There were traditions that Nohr had regarding weddings, one being that the two who were engaged were not to see each other up until the wedding, so Takumi had been unable to meet the Nohrian royal family when they had arrived. At first he’d been upset; he wasn’t to see the person he was to be married to until they were standing at the alter? Upon further reflection, however, he’d agreed that not seeing Leo was probably best in the long run. Seeing him would have made his situation real, and until he was actually being married he wanted to keep a little bit of denial in his life.

 

The denial lasted until he was standing just outside the room that he would be signing away his future. Ryoma had a hand around his shoulder and even with the pressure Takumi couldn’t stop the shiver of fear that went through him. What if he couldn’t do this? What if somehow this marriage was ruined because of him, and then as the alliance fell apart? His mind was spiraling, but there was nothing he could say about it, because as he went to voice his worries to Ryoma, the door to the room opened and he was being led down the aisle.

 

He didn’t see any of the Nohrian royal family until Ryoma was leading him through the doors and into the room. He was to be brought in first to stand in front of the priest, with Leo following after him. The people who had been invited to the wedding already had taken their seats, with Takumi’s family sitting on the front left. As he was moving down the aisle, he took in the two other members of his soon-to-be extended family. There was a lovely woman with long purple hair, sitting with her back straight and her head tilted just enough that she could look over her shoulder as Takumi walked closer. Next to her sat a little girl that looked to be around Sakura’s age. She wasn’t watching Takumi, instead playing with a piece of fabric on her dress, smiling at whatever it is she was thinking about. Takumi envied her, in a way. She looked as if she didn’t have a care in the world.  
  
  
The door to the room was opened once again, and after taking a deep breath, Takumi turned so that he could see the face of the man he was going to marry.

 

When Takumi would look back on this moment, he’d ignore the fact that his very first thought was one of relief, because _Thank the gods he’s easy on the eyes_ was not really what one would consider a romantic thought. But when he saw Leo, he’d breathed internally; as shallow as it was, being married to someone that he considered attractive would make the arranged marriage much easier to deal with.

 

And then he’d done a double take, because as Leo walked closer, his arm linked with his older brother’s, Takumi had to inhale. He was dressed in what Takumi thought was a traditional wedding outfit for Nohr; long black colored coat that went down to his calves, gold design on the edges, with black pants and a cream colored shirt. He didn’t focus too much on what he was wearing, however, and instead moved his gaze to take in what his spouse looked like. Prince Leo of Nohr held his head high, his eyes staring straight ahead, his face giving nothing away, and it allowed Takumi to see his features clearly. The first thing that Takumi noticed was Leo’s nose, which he’d later wonder why he focused on his nose first of all things. His nose was centered on his face, small and cute, and Takumi held back the sudden urge to scrunch his own nose as he continued to look at the face of his future husband.

 

Leo’s mouth was the next thing he focused on; even from a distance he could see that Leo’s lower lip was thicker than his upper lip, the color a pale red, and as he watched Leo’s tongue poked out to wet as his lips, probably a nervous habit. _I have to kiss those lips_ , he thought, eyes following the movement of Leo’s tongue as it came out to wet his lips one more time. He hoped that before they kissed Leo didn’t do that. Takumi had never kissed someone before, and the idea of kissing someone with wet lips wasn’t appealing to him at the moment.

 

Next he took in Leo’s high cheeks, noting the flush on his face, and while Takumi wished it was from nerves it was probably more about how warm Hoshido was in comparison to Nohr. His cheekbones were high, accenting his eyes and the entire structure of his face, and as his own gaze moved up Takumi ended with locking eyes with his spouse. Leo’s gaze was intense, and Takumi inhaled sharply. He could see that even though he was putting up a strong front, Leo was just as nervous as Takumi felt.

 

Takumi felt his nerves settle a little in his stomach for a moment, but the closer Leo got to him the more they started up again. From a distance, Leo was pleasing to look at, but up close - Takumi inhaled, held it for three seconds, and then let it go, hoping that his face was remaining impassive. Leo’s lower lip was thicker than he’d thought, his jawline sharp and elegant, and the way his hair was framing his face accented his cheekbones and the shape of his upper jaw. Each step Leo took was graceful, a walk that told any watching him that he was a prince. Takumi’s eyes scanned down Leo’s body, taking in his thin looking shoulders and waist before moving down, lingering just a tad too long on Leo’s thighs. Prince Leo of Nohr was _very_ pleasing to look at; one might even say he was beautiful.

 

As Leo drew closer to stand next to him, Xander taking the hand that had been on his arm and placing it on Takumi’s right hand as a symbolic gesture, Takumi gulped heavily. _Maybe this won’t be too bad,_ he thought as they turned to face the priest. _At least consummation won’t be too hard, now that I know what he looks like._

 

He kept one eye on Leo as the priest began his speech, blabbering on and on about love and uniting. Takumi didn’t pay attention too much, trying to focus on keeping his hands from sweating too much. In his grip, he felt Leo’s hand twitch, one of the only signs that he was nervous. The twitching extended just a way up his arm, but Takumi could see that Leo was holding himself tall through the sheer power of his pure will. Takumi had to admire that.

 

In front of them, the priest was still speaking, “Have you come here of your own free will and choice and without compulsion to marry each other?”

 

Takumi almost wanted to laugh, but he’d been prepped for this moment, when he’d have to lie to all those attending and say, “I have.”

 

Beside him, Leo echoed his answer. His voice was strong, powerful, and it didn’t waiver one bit when he spoke.

 

The priest continued, saying, “Will you love and honor each other in marriage all the days of your life?”

 

Together they answered in the affirmative. All within what felt like a matter of seconds, they were being turned towards each other in order to say their vows. Takumi had practiced these vows to himself many times, hoping that he’d sound sincere when it came time to say them for real in front of his family and the people of his nation, and he hoped that they would believe him when he opened his mouth and began.

 

He looked at Leo dead in the eye as he spoke. “I do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment why I, Takumi, Prince of Hoshido, may not be joined in matrimony.” _Breathe,_ he reminded himself before continuing, “I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, Takumi, Prince of Hoshido, do take the man before me, Leo, Prince of Nohr, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to be one with from this day forward, in the best of times and in the worst of times, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until the very end.”

 

His voice did not waiver once, his eyes locked with Leo’s and his stance strong. He remained that way as Leo repeated the vows back to him, both of their hands gripping each other tightly; Leo’s knuckles were white, and Takumi could tell that he wanted this to be over just as much as Takumi did. With each second that the priest droned on about love after their vows, Takumi could feel his resolve shaking, the panic building in his chest. _Gods, I’m being married to a complete stranger_ , he thought. He’d had that thought many times before, but now it was real, it was happening, and -

 

“I pronounce these two as husbands, bonded in the eyes of the gods and mankind. You may kiss.”

 

The panic built up faster this time around, and he could see it mirrored in Leo’s face, but he couldn’t focus on that. If he allowed it to take control of him, they’d never finish the wedding. _You can do this, Takumi. For Hoshido,_ and then he was leaning forward, pulling Leo by the hand just enough to get him to bend down a bit so that their lips could touch.

 

Leo, thankfully, hadn’t licked his lips prior to their kiss. As for first kisses, Takumi had to say it wasn’t too bad, but he’d never kissed someone, so he had nothing to compare it too. Leo’s lips were a little chapped, unsure in how they were pressing against Takumi’s, but it wasn’t as terrifying as he thought it would be, kissing Leo of Nohr. His hand placed itself on Leo’s elbow, drawing him in closer as he pressed one last time against those lips. Moving away, he took note of Leo’s relaxed face, his eyes partially closed; his tongue poked out to wet his lips again, and Takumi was grateful that he waited until after they’d kissed before doing that.

 

Hand in hand, they turned to face those in attendance, and as per the Hoshidan custom, held out their clasped hands in front of them to end the ceremony.

 

 _Oh gods,_ he thought, looking out at those who were clapping politely as he and Leo made their way down the aisle and towards the door. _I’m married_.

 

***

 

For being newlyweds, they didn’t get a lot of time to speak to each other, having been rushed once they left the room of the wedding and entered the room where the reception was being held. Council member after council member walked up to them to greet them with fake warmth and happiness, and it was only after one had introduced his daughter to Takumi, clearly hoping that he would consider her as a possible mistress did Leo take his hand, excuse the both of them for a moment, and drag him out of the room and into an empty hallway.

 

After he let go, Leo looked flustered, more than he had during the actual ceremony. “I know I shouldn’t have done that,” he said, his voice low enough that Takumi had to lean in to hear him fully, “but I have one request of you. If you only give me one thing out of the marriage, I’d like for this to be it.”

 

Takumi frowned. “What is it?”

 

The look on Leo’s face was almost desperate as he said, “No concubines,” he said, firmly, and then so softly Takumi almost missed it, “ _Please_ , no concubines.”

 

The way he phrased the statement felt off to Takumi. It was worded like a command, and initially Takumi felt anger rise up in him. Who did Leo think he was to demand that of him? Yes, they were married, but aside from the legal obligation towards each other, they owed nothing to one another. He let that initial anger go, however, as Leo repeated his request, and instead paid attention to the small quiver in his voice. There was a reason that Leo had requested it and Takumi figured he’d learn about that reason later, if need be.

 

So he nodded, said, “No concubines,” and then once Leo had given him a look of thanks (it was awkward, like he wasn’t used to giving it at all), Takumi took his hand and pulled him back into the room, playing the part of the happy newly married couple.

 

Ryoma walked up to the both of them first, a forced smile on his face as he weaved his way around council members trying to speak to him. “Hello,” he said, ignoring the group of five men standing behind him, all waiting to get his attention. “I wanted to be the first to congratulate the happy couple.”

 

 _Happy_ , Takumi thought. _Right_.

 

His grip on Leo’s hand tightened considerably. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Leo wince a bit. “Thank you, King Ryoma,” Leo said, giving a polite bow.

 

“I wanted to speak to you, Prince Leo,” Ryoma said, his tone sounding urgent as another two council members lined up behind him. “Would you mind coming with me to discuss a few things? I won’t have the time to speak to you about them before you and Takumi leave for your honeymoon tomorrow.”

 

“Oh,” Leo said, gulping before pulling his hand from Takumi’s grip. “Yes, I will come with you.” He shot Takumi a small look of panic, the first look he’d seen on his husband ( _husband_ ) that betrayed his emotions since he’d seen him. He waved the two of them off, not quite knowing what to do and mentally preparing himself for the council members that would no doubt swarm him.

 

Only when he turned back to face those who would be congratulating him, he found himself suddenly face to chest with some of the widest shoulders he’d seen. Looking up he found himself staring directly into the eyes of Xander, King of Nohr and Prince Leo’s older brother. _My brother-in-law_ , his mind helpfully reminded him.

 

“Uh,” he said.

 

“Hello,” Xander said.

 

King Xander’s face was hardened, frown lines showing on his brow, and his mouth firm and the edges curved downwards. He was staring at Takumi with an intensity that made Takumi want to curl up in a corner somewhere and hope that he was never found. He couldn’t let this man intimidate him, he told himself. This man may be the King of Nohr, but he was also Takumi’s new brother-in-law, and Takumi would be required to speak to him, at least a few times a year, but hopefully not more so he’d have to get used to the man’s rather intimidating face. He’d start now, he decided.

 

“Thank you for attending our wedding, I am pleased that you could make it,” was what came out of his mouth, which in retrospect was a rather dumb thing to say.

 

Xander raised an eyebrow and Takumi almost went back on his decision to not be intimidated by Leo’s brother. “Yes, I am glad that you’re pleased. Had I not made it to the wedding, then Leo would not have made it and that would have been a rather large problem.”

 

Takumi gulped. “Y-yes, it would have.”

 

They stood there, looking at each other silently and when Takumi started wondering if the man ever _blinked_ Xander opened his mouth again. “I hope that you’ll be happy,” he said at first, startling Takumi into freezing on the spot. “I hope that your future is bright,” and it was almost like he was forcing the words to come out of his mouth. “Most important, though, is that you treat my brother with dignity, respect, and compassion, because if I hear that you’ve been cruel to him, you will need to answer to me. Understood?”

Takumi nodded quickly, and was wondering if it was possible to have the floor open up and swallow him whole when a hand tapped Xander on the shoulder. “You’re scaring the poor dear, Xander,” came a sing-song voice from behind him. Over his shoulder appeared Leo’s older sister ( _Camilla_ , his mind supplied), who was giving Takumi a gentle smile as she continued to walk forward; her arms wrapped around Takumi’s body and then he was being pulled forward, his head being pushed against her chest and then his body was being swayed side to side. Above him, Camilla continued to speak. “You’re too tense, dear, no wonder the poor boy was scared.”

 

“Was I being scary?”

 

There was a pat given to his head and then he was being pressed harder against her chest. He couldn’t breathe. “You have the look on your face like you do when you have to deal with the nobility. You need to relax.”

 

“Oh,” came Xander’s voice. “I see.”

 

Takumi was currently wondering whether “death from suffocation via breasts” was something they could carve on his gravestone. “I hope that he didn’t scare you _too_ much, darling,” Camilla was saying above him, still swaying him gently side to side. “I hope that whatever Xander said to you doesn’t prevent you from visiting our wonderful home in Nohr.”

 

 _No,_ he wanted to say, but was unable to do anything but scream silently at the moment, _but if you continue to smother me like this I’ll be unable to go anywhere_.

 

“Camilla,” came a stern voice behind them, one that he recognized as Leo’s. “Please release my husband before he suffocates to death.”

 

He actually _heard_ Camilla pout before he was released from her grip. Gasping for breath, he allowed Leo’s hands to keep him steady and he wheezed out a harsh, “Thank you,” to which Leo gave him a smirk.

 

“I should have warned you about my family,” he said softly.

 

Takumi let out a cough. “Yes, that would have been lovely. Speaking of family,” he said, gesturing towards where Ryoma was standing, speaking to the  youngest sibling of Leo’s. His brother looked mildly startled at whatever Leo’s sister was saying to him and Takumi couldn’t hold back his laugh, “what did my brother say to you?”

 

Leo cleared his throat and looked away. “Nothing important,” he said, snatching up Takumi’s hand and turning to face his siblings. “Now, let me introduce you properly.”

 

***

 

The reception had lasted only two hours, for which Takumi was thankful for. After having been introduced to Leo’s family properly (Elise had reminded him of Sakura, but more outgoing and affectionate, Camilla was… not that much different from his first impression of her, and once he’d relaxed his face, Xander wasn’t that bad either) and he’d introduced Leo to his own family, they’d met the congratulations from the other council members with faked gratefulness, had their first meal as a married couple, and then had been shepherded out the room.

 

They were lead to the room they’d be staying by one of the castle servants, and with each step Takumi’s heart seemed to speed up. He knew what was expected by the two of the that night, and he only wish that his nervousness was shared by his _husband_ , who was walking with a blank look on his face. He knew almost nothing about his husband ( _husband, husband, husband)_ but he wanted to share his nervousness with him. This was a big step that they had to take, but he had no way of getting out of it, and if he thought about it the more he realized that he didn’t want to somehow find a way to fake the consummation.

 

He reasoned with himself that it was only because he wanted to do this for Hoshido, that it was his dedication towards Hoshido that he was going to give this marriage his all. He didn’t know much about Prince Leo ( _husband_ ) but from the little he’d spent with him during the reception he felt that with time they could become friends.

 

He glanced at Leo from the corner of his eye. Leo still didn’t look nervous.  

 

“A servant will come by in the morning with your morning meal,” the girl was saying as they reached the door to their room. “After that I will come back to take you to the carriage so that you can begin the journey to your honeymoon destination.”

 

The door opened and, taking a deep breath, Takumi entered first, Leo following him soon after. “Thank you for informing us,” Leo said, almost as an afterthought, his eyes following where Takumi’s had already fallen from the moment he’d entered the room; the large bed, Nohrian style, sitting innocently in the middle of the room.

 

“I wish you happiness with your union,” the servant said before she backed out of the room. “If you need anything, someone will be available one hall over.” The door closed behind her with a sound that sounded louder than it probably was.

 

Takumi tapped his fist against his thigh, looking anywhere but at Leo, who had seemed to find something very fascinating on the bed sheets that took his complete concentration. Takumi didn’t want to be the one to break the silence, but he didn’t know if Leo ( _his husband_ ) would, so he opened his mouth to say something, then he immediately closed it. He repeated those two motions a few more times, trying to find something to say to Leo ( _his husband_ ), but nothing was coming to mind. Instead of speaking, he took two steps forward, and that seemed to remind Leo that he was also in the room with him.

 

The words “So, we’re supposed to have sex now,” came tumbling out of his mouth at the exact moment Leo said, “Was this blanket hand sewn?”

 

Takumi blinked at him, his face turning a bright red as Leo turned to face him fully. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” His husband ( _husband!)_ asked him.

 

“Nothing, nothing at all!”

 

Leo raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t question him any further. Instead, he pointed at the blanket again and repeated his earlier question. “Was this sewn by hand? Whoever did it had remarkable skill.”

 

Takumi looked down at it, trying to see what Leo saw that made the blanket so special. “I think it was, by one of the servants in the castle,” he answered.

 

“Oh, that’s nice.”

 

And then there was silence once more. Leo sat down on the bed, his arms held close to his side and his right leg draped gracefully over his left. Takumi tapped his fist against his thigh a few more times before he inhaled deeply and took determined steps towards the bed. He sat on it next to Leo, and the only sign that Leo was surprised at his sudden movements was how his eyes widened. The longer he sat there, the more he noticed how Leo was suppressing his nerves; how his fingers would twist the fabric of his shirt around every once in awhile, how his leg was bouncing up and down, and Takumi let out an exhale. Maybe he was more okay with having to consummate the marriage more than Leo was.

 

“We can probably find a way around it, you know.”

 

Leo’s leg stopped bouncing. “The consummation?”

 

Takumi gestured at his stiff posture. “You seem really tense, and we both know why we were placed in a room at the end of the castle, far away from any other occupied room. Plus, there’s the fact that it _has_ to be consummated, according to some law that I honestly have never heard of, but…” Again, he gestured at Leo, “not if you don’t want to.”

 

Leo’s leg stopped bouncing. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never… I’ve never done anything like this before. Yes, I’ve heard about it from my retainer, I’ve heard _plenty_ from my retainer, but now that it’s in front of me, something that I’m required to do, I find myself freezing up. It’s not that I don’t want to,” he said quickly when Takumi opened his mouth, “if it’s for my nation, then I will do it, it’s just…” Leo let out a sigh. “I do not know _how_.”

 

“Oh,” Takumi said.

 

 _Oh_.

 

Takumi rubbed at the back of his head. “If it’s the mechanics that you don’t know about, then…”

 

Leo shook his head, a blush appearing on his cheeks. “No, I understand the mechanics and how it works in theory, but I don’t know how to apply it, if that makes any sense at all? I don’t know what I enjoy, having never done anything like this before, and I certainly don’t know what you prefer in bed, having never met you before tonight. It’s all so _frustrating_.”

 

Takumi flushed as well. “I don’t know what I prefer either, since I’m the same as you. I’ve never done this before.” He let out a small, dark chuckle. “Spent most of my life preparing and training for a war that never happened.”

 

Leo let out a chuckle that matched his own. “Ah, yes, it was the same for me as well.”

 

Takumi leaned back on his arms, staring at his husband with a new idea forming in his mind. “We have all night to… consummate the marriage,” he started slowly. “Why don’t we take the time to get to know each other first?”

 

Leo gave him a confused look. “You mean, discuss our likes and dislikes?”

 

“Yeah!” Takumi said, possibly too enthusiastically. “I’m going to be married to you for the rest of my life, the _least_ I could do is get to know you.”

 

“Uh,” Leo said, lifting his legs so that he could sit completely on the bed. “Where do I start?”

 

“Well, things like… what’s your favorite kind of food?”

 

Leo tilted his head to the side, almost adorably. “My favorite food? I really like tomatoes, and I also enjoy beef stew. What about you?”

 

Takumi leaned back against the pillows on the bed, allowing his legs to rest on the mattress. “I like miso soup.”

 

“Miso soup?”

 

Takumi ended up explaining what it was exactly, which led to Leo inquiring about the different type of spices that were commonly used in Hoshido. They spent what felt like _hours_ just talking, and Takumi was honestly surprised at how easy it was to speak to Leo. He’d thought that there would be anger building up once he was married, more rage at having to marry someone who had been his enemy not even half a year ago, and while he was angry about his situation at having been forced into a marriage, he felt no rage at having to marry a Nohrian, or more specifically, having to marry  _Leo_.

 

He liked to think it was because he was growing up, but he’d also had a lot of time to reflect on the many discussions he and Ryoma had held regarding the treaty and negotiations regarding Nohr. He’d also been allowed the time to mourn his mother’s passing properly. Had he been thrust straight into war, he knew he would have allowed the anger of her death to fuel his actions; fighting was easier when angry. He might have blamed every single Nohrian for her death, but he knew that now he couldn’t put blame where it didn’t belong. His mother’s death had been caused by Garon, who was now dead and in the ground. From the reports Ryoma received, Xander was doing things in Nohr that Ryoma greatly approved of, and he was receiving help from his siblings. If Ryoma trusted them, than the least Takumi could do was try to trust them as well.

 

“I feel as though the history of our nations could teach us a lot,” Leo was saying, his head resting against the pillow and his hair falling into his face. “History always repeats itself, even in the smallest of ways, and I believe we could learn a lot from studying it, taking what worked and evolving it to fit our times.”

 

Leo believed and liked a lot of the things Takumi enjoyed himself, and he talked as if he’d never had anyone to speak about his passions to before. There was a light in his eye when he discussed magic, and he’d even let out a small little chuckle when Takumi had confessed that he was completely incapable of using magic.

 

“I’ve never met anyone in my _entire life_ that was unable to use magic completely.”

 

“Well, now you have.”

 

When their conversation eventually stalled, Takumi knew why. He was growing tired, Leo the same, and they still had one last thing that they had to do before retiring for the night. Takumi bit his lip, sitting up on the bed. He ran a hand through his hair, the tie having been loosened earlier in their conversation. Just as he was about to ask Leo if it was possible for him to create some magical illusion to trick the people coming to confirm that they had, indeed, consummated their marriage, he felt a soft kiss being pressed to his lips.

 

Pulling away he looked Leo right in the eyes. “Are you sure?”

 

Leo avoided his gaze for a moment before he returned it. “I am if you are.” When Takumi nodded, Leo laid himself back down on the mattress, allowing Takumi to hover over him. He inhaled. “Duty, for my King, and for Nohr,” he whispered, probably mostly to himself, as a way to gather his courage.

 

 _For Hoshido_ , _I'm doing this for Hoshido,_  Takumi said to himself as he leaned down, pressed his body firmly against Leo’s and gave him a long, long kiss.

 

***

 

The morning had been awkward, as Takumi had figured it would be.

 

He’d woken up to the sun shining in his eyes and his husband’s ( _husband_ , he didn’t think he’d ever get used to the fact that he was now married) bare back as Leo bent over the bed slowly, trying to retrieve something on the floor. Takumi blinked slowly at him for a moment before he sat up as well, stretching out his arms as he did so.

 

“Uh, good morning,” he said.

 

The answer he received was what he assumed was a growl, but it was interrupted by a yawn as well. “Good?” Leo said, glaring at him from over his shoulder.

 

Takumi frowned. “What did I do?’

 

Memories of the previous night assaulted him and he flushed, looking down at his lap when Leo continued to stare at him. “Did you know that you like to punch things when you sleep?”

 

“I do?”

 

Leo’s glare intensified. “ _Yes_.”

 

“Oh,” Takumi said. “I’m sorry?”

 

Leo huffed and grabbed his shirt and small clothes from the floor. When he went to stand, Takumi couldn’t help the fact that his eyes followed the movement of his legs and ass, and he continued to stare even after Leo had covered himself up. “I hope that you are, with how sore I am traveling today is going to be impossible. Do you remember when the servant said our breakfast would be brought to us? I need to eat.”

 

“Great,” Takumi muttered to himself, sliding out from underneath the covers so that he could get dressed as well. “My husband is grouchy in the mornings.”

 

“ _Excuse me_?”

 

Takumi held up his hands in a quick sign of surrender. “Nothing, nothing.”

 

Leo then proceeded to put on his knee high socks. “I do wonder how I’m supposed to sit in a carriage all day, considering what you put my body through last night.”

 

Takumi shoved a soft pillow at his _husband_. That he’d had sex with. His very _attractive_ husband with whom he’d had sex. It was a shame that Leo’s beauty was his only good trait in the morning. “Use that. And I don’t know what you’re talking about, I feel great.”

 

Leo gave him a dark look over the top of the pillow. “Yes, but that’s because you didn’t have an overenthusiastic spouse shoving their -”

 

There was a knock on their door and Takumi rushed over to answer it, greeting the servant who was bringing them their breakfast with a smile so fake that it felt like his cheeks were splitting. “Good morning,” the servant said, pushing in the cart with a rather creepy looking smile on his face. It was a servant that Takumi had never seen before, with white hair and an eyepatch covering one eye.

 

“Uh,” he said as the servant put the cart in the middle of the room but didn’t leave. “You’re dismissed,” he gestured at the door, but the servant didn’t move.

 

Leo frowned at the man. “Niles, what are you doing here?”

 

“You know him?” Takumi asked as the man named Niles leaned against the wall with his arms folded, that smirk still on his face.

 

“Yes. He’s one of my retainers. Although why he’s here, I don’t know.”

  
Niles watched the both of them intently as they made their way towards the cart of food. “I was sent to confirm consummation, at King Xander’s request.” He kept his eye on them as they got their food, Takumi feeling very uncomfortable with how intently he was staring. When Leo moved to sit, grimacing as he did so, the smirk on Niles’ face grew. “And there it is, confirmation of the consummation,” he teased, and Leo shot him a look. “Odin also owes me some gold.”

 

Leo’s eyes narrowed. “Niles, _leave_.”

 

Niles bowed low, but Takumi felt it was more mocking than anything. “Anything for milord,” he said as he backed out of the room. “I will be seeing you two later; Odin and I will be accompanying you on your honeymoon, as the man who was going to be driving the carriage is suddenly unable to do so.”

 

The door closed softly behind him and once it had, Leo dropped his head into his hands.

 

“This day just keeps getting better and better.”

 

Takumi sat down next to him, his plate of food balanced on his lap. He silently agreed with Leo, but he took a bite of his food to stop himself from saying anything. As odd as his situation was now, he could tell that his future would, at the very least, never be boring. He looked at Leo out of the corner of his eye and then he cleared his throat. “Uh, you know you’re wearing your shirt inside out, right?”

 

Leo’s head shot up from his hands and he looked at his shirt, his face quickly turning red. “I am?” He quickly took it off to turn it right side in and Takumi cleared his throat once more and averted his gaze. Leo had a… nice body.

 

 _You’ve seen him naked,_ he said to himself. _Seeing him shirtless is nothing._ But it didn’t help because as he watched Leo put the shirt on right side in, but backwards this time, he couldn’t help the heat that rose up in him with each patch of skin that was revealed.

 

_Yes, my future in this marriage will most definitely not be boring, not at all._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why don’t you tell me what you like about Nohr? I really am curious about what it’s like there, and I’m sure that you can put a few rumors that Hoshido has about it to rest.”
> 
> Leo raised an eyebrow. “What kind of rumors?”  
>    
> “Rumors like how each month on the full moon there’s a ritual sacrifice to keep the demons from killing everyone in Nohr.”  
>    
> Leo pursed his lips. “There’s no way you didn’t just make that up on the spot.”  
>    
> Takumi actually had, but he didn’t need to prove Leo right. “Well, is it true?”
> 
> “Absolutely not.” Leo paused, folded his arms and said, “It happens on the new moon of every month, not the full moon. It’s also a blood ritual, so technically no one dies unless they bleed out.”
> 
> Leo’s facial expression didn’t give away any sign that he was joking and Takumi blinked rapidly at him. “Wait, seriously?”
> 
> “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am SO SORRY for the wait! i had the worst writers block for the longest time and then i ended up getting dragged into fate grand order and WOW is that game addicting (never play it, and by never i mean download it right now) but i was determined to finish this chapter for leo's birthday and \o/

“Tell me about Nohr.”

 

Leo glanced up from the book that was in his lap; his shoulders were pulled in tight to his body and he was hunched over, as if trying to make himself seem smaller. Takumi was in the same situation, pressed up against the side of the carriage with his arms and legs folded uncomfortably. Next to both of them was a giant pile of flowers, so many that it was impossible to move in the carriage without squishing them.

 

It was a Hoshidan tradition to give flowers to the newly wedded couple, as a symbol of flourishing love and devotion, and for those flowers to be brought with them to their next destination - the honeymoon location or the home they’d be living in - as a sign of new beginnings. Takumi had been expecting to be given flowers, but he hadn’t taken into account that the Nohrians would be taking part in the tradition too, and may have gotten the part about how many flowers to give wrong. When they’d been taken to the carriage and the door had been opened, flowers had poured out onto the ground. Takumi hadn’t been able to say anything about the number of flowers before he was pushed into the carriage, Leo being forced in after, and being driven away from the castle. It had been awkward, trying to find a position that wouldn’t have him crushing the flowers, but he’d eventually found one against the side of the carriage.

 

The beginnings of the trip had been silent, both boys avoiding eye contact. After Leo’s retainer had left their room, an awkward presence had fell over the two of them and they’d finished breakfast in silence. That silence now carried over to the carriage, but it wasn’t as awkward as it had been during breakfast. Now, Takumi looked over at his husband, who was curled up as well as he could be with the flowers, a book in his hands; his eyes were moving back and forth quickly along the page, the fingers of his right hand curled around the single page, ready to turn it once he was finished.

 

Those fingers had curled around the bed sheets almost in the same way last night; the grip hadn’t been tight at first, but the more they had moved together, the tighter it had gotten on the sheets. Takumi closed his eyes, remembering the feeling of nails on his back, panting in his ear, and (embarrassingly) his back cramping up a bit due to him never actually using his muscles in the way that he had. Swallowing a gulp, Takumi opened up his eyes to look back at his _husband_ who was still looking at his book. However, Takumi noted that the grip on the book was tighter and there was a small flush on his cheeks. Maybe he was reliving the previous night as well. Takumi hoped he was, so that he wasn’t the only one thinking about it.

 

Instead of staying quiet, however, Takumi opened up his mouth and found himself asking about Nohr. It took a few seconds after asking for Leo to fully put the book down on his lap. “What do you want to know about?”

 

Takumi did his best to shrug; a flower fell from his shoulder to his lap and he carefully placed it on the pile of flowers next to him. It fell right back on his lap. “Anything, really. I’ve never actually been to Nohr and I’ve only read about it. Most of what I know is just hearsay from traders who go near the borders.  Is it true that there’s never any sun at all? That you live in the dark all of the time?”

 

The look Leo gave him had Takumi clamping his mouth shut. “Do you… seriously think that?” Leo asked, the corners of his mouth turned upwards just enough that Takumi could see he was trying to hold back a smile. When Takumi continued to stare at him, waiting for an answer, Leo’s eyes widened and he drew his shoulders in a bit more; some flowers fell on his head and on his lap, and Leo quickly brushed them away. “No, we do actually get the sun.” Leo paused, his fingers moving over to grasp at his book. He flicked a flower petal off the cover and then wrapped his fingers around the edge. It must not have been a book with a sturdy cover, since it bent easily in the hold that Leo had on it. “It’s not _often_ , but we do get the sunlight coming through the clouds.”

 

Takumi frowned and shifted a bit in his seat, and with that small movement some flowers tricked onto his lap. He picked up the stem of one and ran his fingers over the petals absentmindedly. “So is it just endlessly cloudy there?”

 

Leo looked like he wanted to shrug, but halfway through raising his shoulders he froze, his mouth thinning as he arched a bit forward, his head tilting to the side and backwards just a bit. “Ah.” Takumi shoved the image of Leo arching underneath him like that the previous night out of his mind. It popped right back up again when Leo shifted again and he bit his lip to take his mind off of the previous night. _This is going to be a problem…_  When he noticed Takumi’s stare, Leo said, “There’s a flower stem poking into my back.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Takumi wasn’t sure he knew what to do. If he moved, then getting back into his spot would be hard, but a good husband would help Leo remove the flower. At least, that’s what he thought a good husband would do. A good husband could also let his spouse to remove the flower by himself, showing that they know that their significant other can take care of their own issues. What was he supposed to do in this situation? Help Leo? Or let him deal with the flower by himself?

 

He’d been given a book on how to make a marriage successful as a wedding present from Sakura and Hinoka, he remembered suddenly. _I should probably read it. It probably has a bunch of tips and directions for dealing with situations like this_ . At least, he hoped so. Otherwise he was pretty much screwed. He had no idea how to be a husband, considering he’d never been in any kind of romantic relationship. There’d been absolutely no time; full on war with Nohr had seemed inevitable, and settling down and having kids had never been his top priority. Now, having a happy and successful marriage seemed like his _only_ priority, and he’d never felt so lost. Takumi had always picked up on things quickly, but aside from the fact that he and Leo seemed to share common interests, Takumi had trouble reading him. Would Leo be the type who would hate it if Takumi helped him get the flower out from behind his back, or would he be the type who would be thankful? Or would he just not care? _This is just too much to handle!_

 

His dilemma was taken care of when Leo shifted in his seat, his brow furrowed; he leaned back a moment later, a look of relief on his face. “Did the flower move?”

 

“Yes, I used some basic magic to move it,” was the response, and it reminded Takumi that his husband had a reputation for incredibly strong, and oftentimes terrifying, magic. Takumi was jokingly called the Black Thumb of magic within his small circle of friends and family, because his ability to use magic was so nonexistent that people wondered if he caused those who could use magic to lose some of their ability when he was around them.  He didn’t find the joke funny, most of the time, because he really did enjoy magic and wished he could use it.

 

“Speaking of magic,” he began slowly, because he wasn’t sure how to go about asking this to someone he barely knew, “did you mean it? What you said last night?”

 

Leo glanced up at him and for a second the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the carriage moving and what Takumi thought was whistling coming from Leo’s rather… interesting retainer. “You’ll need to elaborate. I,” and here he flushed; Takumi thought the color looked amazing on his cheeks and made him look rather cute, and then he mentally slapped himself because now was _not_ the time to be checking out his shiny new husband, “I said a lot of things last night.”

 

A flush grew to match the one on Leo’s cheeks and Takumi coughed into his fist and then cleared his throat. “Ah… y-yes, we _both_ said quite a lot of things last night.” He cleared his throat again before continuing, attempting to ignore the heat rushing through his body, “but what I meant was that you offered to attempt to teach me to use magic. I was just wondering if you had truly meant that?”

 

“Oh, of course. I wouldn’t have offered if I hadn’t meant it. I’ve never met someone who wasn’t able to use magic.” He still sounded skeptical; magic was something that almost everyone had the ability to do - at least with the basics. Using tomes and scrolls with the spells like the ones Takumi was sure Leo used required a ridiculous amount of magical talent, but using a fire tome or the equivalent spirit scroll to start a campfire or to heat up food was something very common with most people. Unfortunately, Takumi was not most people. Leo was still staring at him as though he couldn’t quite believe that Takumi had absolutely _no_ magical talent.

 

Takumi rolled his eyes. “I’ve tried magic, and believe me, it’s just not something I’m capable of doing.”

 

Leo brought a hand up to his chin, looking like he was thinking. “Maybe you just didn’t have the right teacher?”

 

“And who would the right teacher be, you?”

 

Leo nodded. “Yes.”

 _Arrogant,_ Takumi’s mind helpfully supplied. _Cute, but arrogant_. “I guess we’ll see about that,” he muttered, mostly to himself. When Leo fell silent, picking up the Nohrian book once more, Takumi tapped his fingers against the side of his head, thinking. With how they’d spent most of the night just getting to know each other as much as they could before they were required to consummate their marriage, and with their families getting everything ready for the wedding, it seemed that learning about Nohr had taken a back seat to everything that had been happening. He felt really lucky that Leo was going to be living in Hoshido with him and not the other way around. He wondered if Leo had taken it upon himself to learn anything about Hoshido. If he had, then Takumi felt like he had some catching up to do.

 

“We have a ways to go before we reach our destination,” he started with, watching as Leo looked up again at him from his book. “Since you’re going to be living in Hoshido, are there any questions you have about our culture, our traditions; anything at all, really?”

 

Leo closed the book and clasped it between his hands, pressing the pages against his lips. “Yes, I do. What’s,” and he glanced at the flowers, his eyebrows furrowing, “with the flowers? I understand that it’s a tradition but… it’s a little excessive.”

 

As he finished his sentence, another flower fell off of the pile on to his right and landed on top of his head band. Takumi thought it was rather cute. “I was taught that it originated when the family of the daughter who was marrying the King was too poor to buy anything that would be considered a suitable gift for the King. Instead of trying to find something to buy, they grew as many flowers as they could, specifically the King’s favorite flowers, and presented them to the newly wedded couple the day after the wedding. It was said that the King was so overjoyed that he requested more flowers for their anniversary the next year, and it became so well known how happy the King was with those flowers that his younger brother also requested them as a gift at his wedding. It just grew from there until it was tradition. It’s… kind of funny, a King being so overjoyed with just flowers, but I think it’s a cute story.”

 

Leo shifted in his seat just a bit. “It was nice… I think the version I found when I was looking up Hoshidan wedding traditions was a bit different than that. It mentioned that three gardens full of flowers were presented, and that they had to be specific flowers.” Leo paused and looked around the carriage at the flowers. “I’m thinking that they were wrong on the account of how many flowers were supposed to be presented.”

 

Takumi gave him a crooked smile. “Just a _little_.”

 

Leo opened his mouth to respond, but not one second later he let out a little sneeze; he opened his mouth again to talk and then two more sneezes followed the first one. His eyes were watering a little bit as he looked across the carriage at Takumi, sniffing a little bit; Takumi had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing. “I don’t think my body agrees with being around so many flowers all at once, especially with them this close.”

 

When Leo sneezed again, Takumi took in the amount of flowers and the space available in the carriage. “If you want, we can try to push as many flowers to one side of the carriage and then sit on the opposite? At least that way you won’t be as close as you are now.”

 

Leo seemed to ponder his offer, his mouth shut tight. “I’ll be sitting next to you, will that be okay?”

 

Takumi gave him a confused look. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

 

At that Leo paused, looking almost like he was at a loss for a response to the question. “I - I guess I just assumed that it would be an issue.”

 

Takumi frowned, thinking the statement was a little odd, but not prying. “Well, it’s not, but it will be if you don’t help me with moving all of these flowers.”

 

It took a second, but Leo gave him a small smile and inched his way off the carriage seat. Together, they moved the flowers as delicately as they could to the other side of carriage, nearly tripping over each other as they tried to shuffle around in the small space they had. Once the majority of the flowers had been moved to the other side, Takumi gave Leo the spot closest to the carriage door, further away from the pile of flowers. Leo sat down with a small “Thanks” directed at Takumi, his hands holding his book and a single white flower. Takumi inclined his head towards the flower.

 

“Is that flower going to bother you?”

 

Leo shook his head, twisting the stem in between his two fingers; it twirled around nicely before Leo placed it on top of his book. “No, these are the only kinds of flowers that grow well in Nohr. According to my little sister, Elise, there’s a total of seventeen of these flowers included in the pile that we were given. She said there’s one for each year I’ve been alive. She wanted to see if I could find them all without crushing them.” Leo was looking down at the flower fondly, and Takumi wondered if the fondness was directed more towards his little sister than at the flower, but he assumed it could be both.

 

Takumi reached over and let his hand hover over the flower. “May I?” he asked, and when Leo nodded he picked the flower up. It was rather plain for a flower, one that Takumi never would have stopped to admire when out on a walk through the gardens, but upon closer examination the petals were soft and if it was the only kind of flower that could survive in Nohr he could see how one could come to like it. “It’s pretty,” he said, and handed the flower back to Leo.

 

Leo let out a low chuckle (and it definitely did not send a shiver up Takumi’s spine). “You don’t have to lie to me, you know. I know it’s not what one would consider beautiful, especially in comparison to the flowers found in Hoshido.”

 

Takumi shrugged. “I don’t know much about flowers, honestly. That would be my little sister’s area. She likes taking care of the flowers in the garden at the castle.”

 

“Elise is the same when it comes to flowers. She likes making crowns out of them, and she told me if I could bring them back she’d make a new crown for me, so I can have a piece of Nohr with me now that I’ll be…” Leo’s mouth clamped shut, his jaw tightened, and Takumi felt his posture stiffen. “She said she’d make a crown out of them for me,” he finished.

 

Normally one to inquire about what made Leo shut off like that, Takumi instead allowed himself a moment to think. By marrying him, Leo had also agreed to live in Hoshido for the rest of his life. Hoshido was a land that Leo had only seen as the nation he was going to have to fight; the enemy. Now, it was the place he was to stay in, far away from his family and any friends that he had. They would visit Nohr, for sure, but Takumi knew that he’d probably be feeling the same way had their situation been reversed. He would have hated to have lived in a land that he knew nothing about. He reached out hesitantly and, since they were short on space they could move in, he placed his arm around Leo’s shoulder, pretending to not notice when Leo’s eyes widened considerably at the touch.

 

Takumi squeezed his shoulders once before he removed his arm. “Why don’t you tell me what you like about Nohr? I really am curious about what it’s like there, and I’m sure that you can put a few rumors that Hoshido has about it to rest.”

 

Leo raised an eyebrow. “What kind of rumors?”

 

“Rumors like how each month on the full moon there’s a ritual sacrifice to keep the demons from killing everyone in Nohr.”

 

Leo pursed his lips. “There’s no way you didn’t just make that up on the spot.”

 

Takumi actually had, but he didn’t need to prove Leo right. “Well, is it true?”

 

“Absolutely _not_.” Leo paused, folded his arms and said, “It happens on the _new_ moon of every month, not the full moon. It’s also a blood ritual, so technically no one dies unless they bleed out.”

 

Leo’s facial expression didn’t give away any sign that he was joking and Takumi blinked rapidly at him. “Wait, _seriously_?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Takumi was ashamed to say that it took him longer than it should have to realize that Leo was toying with him, and when he did he gave Leo an indignant look, a loud “HEY!” and a shove to his shoulder, which caused Leo (who hadn’t been expecting the shove) to topple over his seat and to the floor of the carriage.

 

Leo would later say that he fell with as much dignity and grace that the fall could allow; Takumi would say he flopped like a fish out of water, and that when Leo had looked up at him with an angry glare from the bottom of the carriage, he hadn’t been able to hold his laughter in. Leo had joined him a few moments later, once he’d crawled back on to the seat of the carriage, and the rest of the ride had been spent without any awkward silences or anyone getting shoved off the carriage seats.

 

At least, until it had been announced that they’d arrived to their destination, and Leo casually tripped Takumi as he went to get up from his seat. “Always be on the lookout for a retaliation attack, my dear husband,” Leo had said with a smirk as Takumi glared at him from the floor, but he held out a hand and helped Takumi stand up,reaching out a hand and brushing Takumi’s bangs out of his face before catching himself and clearing his throat. “Well, shall we? We have to put up the image of a newly wed, madly in love couple.”

 

Takumi figured that the smile on his face wouldn’t have to be faked, since he’d actually enjoyed the time he’d spent with his husband. They linked their arms together and exited the carriage to begin their honeymoon.

 

***

 

The village of Tomari was located just beyond the Great Wall of Suzanoh, well hidden by the forest it resided in. Takumi had visited it a few times when he’d been young; it had been the last place that he had gone with his father before Sumeragi had been taken from them. He remembered the final meal they’d all shared almost as if it had happened just the other day. It felt a little odd to be coming back to Tomari now, with his Nohrian husband, but it also felt nice to see the place again. He’d always had fond memories of the town, and he hoped this visit would be no different.

 

It wasn’t until he had greeted the village elders after he’d stepped out of the carriage and took note of the single pegasus standing with those who had come to greet him did he remember the one tradition after a royal wedding that he had not been looking forward to. He’d fallen off a pegasus once when he’d been young, too eager to learn how to ride one to pay attention to what the instructor was telling him about a proper way to sit. His eagerness must have been shared with the young pegasus as well, because before the teacher could finish giving his instructions the pegasus had taken off. At first, Takumi had been enjoying himself, feeling the air rushing past him as he climbed higher and higher. And then, he’d made the big mistake of looking down.

 

The feeling of terror that shot through him when he noticed how far from the ground he was overwhelming, and he squirmed in his seat, his hands grabbing the mane of the pegasus and pulling as he tried to get closer to it. He must have pulled too hard, because his mount gave out a harsh whine and began to buck, which Takumi actually hadn’t thought possible do to while in the air; after a few moments of frantically grabbing the mane tighter, Takumi lost his grip and slid off the saddle, screaming the entire time he fell.

 

He remembered thinking that he was too young to die, that he hadn’t gotten revenge on Hana for her beating him so thoroughly the last time they’d sparred together, and that he absolutely _couldn’t_ die until his mother taught him her miso soup recipe. He remembered feeling like the fall took ages, and it was only after he had that thought did he hit the ground.

 

He remembered being shocked that he wasn’t dead, and also quite surprised when he’d been informed that he hadn’t actually gotten up high enough for his fall to have caused any serious injury. Takumi had come away with some very large bumps and bruises, but also with a very strong aversion to flying. And also a very strong aversion to large creatures with wings.

 

As if it could sense his dislike, the pegasus let out a snort and stomped in place for a moment and then turned around so it was facing the person that was most likely its owner. Takumi swallowed.

 

Behind him, he heard Leo exhale. “Why is there a pegasus here?”

 

Takumi took in a deep breath, held it for three seconds, and then let it out. “It’s one of the Hoshidan Royal wedding traditions. We’re supposed to ride the pegasus around the town before we are brought to where we’ll be staying.”

 

There was complete silence from behind him, until, “You don’t mean _flying_ , do you?”

 

There was a part of Takumi that took pleasure out of the fact that from his tone it looked like Leo wasn’t fond of the idea of flying; he’d at least have someone with him who would be suffering the same amount that he inevitably would while on the ride. The other part of Takumi wanted to hope back into the carriage and head back to the castle.

 

“Yes,” he told Leo, still staring at the pegasus. “Unfortunately, it means we’ll be flying on it.”

 

Leo walked up to stand next to him, and to Takumi’s delight he was eying the mount with the same look Takumi was. Ignoring the fear still staying happily in his stomach, he nudged Leo’s side with his elbow and said, teasingly, “Don’t like flying? Are you scared?”

 

Leo stood up straighter and sniffed, the typical _I’m a Nohrian Prince and also better than you_ air emitting strongly from his posture. “I prefer my feet firmly planted on the ground, thank you very much. The only time I’m not on my feet is when I’m on my horse, which, while I am off the ground, is still not as high as we’d be on a pegasus.” Leo inhaled and then exhaled. “Very well, since it’s another tradition for Hoshido, we’re required to do it. Let’s get this over with, the sooner the better.”

 

Leo walked forward a few steps, then stopped and looked over at Takumi with a raised eyebrow when Takumi didn’t immediately follow him.

 

“Well? You’re not _scared_ , are you?”

 

Huffing, Takumi marched forward with determination towards the pegasus, because Leo was right. The sooner they got this over with the better. Leo chuckled but followed after him, albeit much slower. _Be a man, Takumi. You’re a Prince of Hoshido. You can handle one simple flight._

 

***

 

Takumi most definitely _could not_ handle one simple flight.

 

The mantra of _you can do this, you can do this_ only helped give him a false sense of courage until he was actually in the air and was unable to take back his agreement to do this. He could hear the court gossip now, _the Prince refused the traditional pegasus flight,_ and he could never let that happen. He knew his ego could never survive it.

 

The one thing that helped keep the utter panic from completely taking over was the fact that his husband was pressed up tightly against him, his arms around his waist in a grip so tight that it was almost impossible to breathe. It helped because Leo cutting off his air supply was also helping with keeping his mind off of the fact that if either he or Leo slipped at all, they could both end up _dead_.

 

 _Prince of Hoshido and his newly wed husband die during traditional pegasus flight_.

 

His soul would never be able to pass on.

 

Takumi opened his mouth and shouted out past the wind, “Are you okay back there?” wincing when his voice cracked on the last word. Around his waist, Leo’s arms tightened enough to squeeze a gasp out of him before they loosened considerably. Takumi took a deep breath, glad to finally be able to breathe normally.

 

“Fine!” Leo shouted back, his voice just as high as Takumi’s. “We’re almost there, _right_?”

 

Oh how Takumi wished they were. “I’m pretty sure we’ve only been flying for at least a few minutes,” he shot back.

 

There was a pause before, “ _What_?”

 

Takumi inhaled, held for five seconds, and then exhaled. “I-it’ll be _fine_. Just… don’t look down!”

 

“ _Too late for that_!”

 

Takumi knew he shouldn’t have done it, but he ignored the advice that he’d given Leo and he looked down at the village below him. The people walking around were tiny dots, and it reminded him a little of the miniature playhouse that his little sister had loved to play with when she was younger. _Oh gods_ , he thought, and his stomach turned over just as the pegasus made a quick turn to the left. Behind him, Leo let out a yelp and plastered himself to Takumi’s back.

 

Hinoka had once told him that flying a pegasus was as easy as drawing a bowstring back, and that he should really give flying on one of them another try. His sister, bless her heart, had decided to have him ride her pegasus at least once a week just to prove it. “ _You’ll be over your fear in no time,_ ” she’d said confidently. That lasted almost a month before Takumi absolutely refused to get on her mount anymore. She’d given in, but not before saying, “ _Once you get over the fear that you’re going to fall, you’ll love flying, I promise you.”_ She’d thought herself right and still held that belief to this very day.

 

Takumi thought Hinoka was a big fat liar.

 

The majority of the flight was spent clinging desperately to the reigns of the pegasus and reminding himself not to look down, with Leo’s arms wrapped tight around his waist and his head buried in the juncture of Takumi’s neck and shoulder. “Tell me when this is over,” Leo had said and he’d not said one thing since, and if he were to be honest, Takumi couldn’t blame him.

 

When the horse finally landed on the ground and two people of the village greeted them Takumi had to harshly ignore the urge to bend down and kiss the ground dramatically. He still had to seem in complete control of himself in front of the villagers; couldn’t allow his reputation to become stained by gossip about him confessing his love to the ground, especially since they were supposed to be believing the rumors about him being madly in love with his Nohrian husband.

 

 _And speaking of my husband,_ he thought and he turned around to see Leo behind him, wide eyed but looking as composed as he could be. Wordlessly, Takumi offered Leo his hand. When Leo took it, he squeezed gently as a sign of comfort. Leo squeezed back, _hard_ , and kept the grip on his hand the entire time they were being led to the place they’d be staying. Takumi took deep, even breaths as a way to ignore the pain in his hand.

 

Ahead of them was the village elder, who had greeted them when they’d first arrived. He was busy speaking about the history of the village, pointing out little details of the buildings and normally Takumi would have enjoyed listening to him speak, but he was noticing the odd looks (as well as a few glares) that were being tossed their way. _No,_ he amended as he watched the village people longer. _It looks like they’re not too fond of having a Nohrian here._ He established eye contact with one of the villagers and stared; he couldn’t glare, as it was ‘unbecoming of a Hoshidan Prince to glare at citizens, Takumi, you know this,’ but he could let them know he wasn’t pleased that they were showing open disdain towards his husband.

 

 _Why do you care so much_?

 

Takumi almost stopped walking, wondering where that thought came from. The more he thought about it, though, the more he did wonder. He’d only known Leo for a single day, and being married to him was definitely not on the list of his plans that he’d had for his life. He’d had goals with helping his brother rule his kingdom, striking out on his own and finding out what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, and now he couldn’t do that. In all honestly, he still should have been upset, no matter his decision to see this marriage through to the best of his ability. However...

 

The grip on his hand tightened painfully for a second before Leo’s hand relaxed. Takumi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye to see that Leo still looked a little wide-eyed, but he returned the small smile that Takumi gave him and it grew a bit when Takumi gave him a reassuring squeeze.

 

However, Leo was in the same boat as him: forced to marry someone he barely knew, someone who used to be his enemy not too long ago, and Leo also had one up on him, as he had been forced to leave Nohr to live in Hoshido on top of everything else, a land that still held a lot of (justified, in a way) anger towards Nohr and its royal family. Takumi wanted to do his best with this marriage (for Hoshido, of course), and part of this marriage was to show to the people of both nations that Nohr and Hoshido could be united ( _in more ways than one,_ his brain helpfully supplied).

 

He could do this. He _would_ do this.

 

The village elder stepped forward and gave a polite bow to the both of them. “We’re happy that such a happy couple has come to stay in our humble village.”

 

Takumi ran a hand through his windswept hair, hoping that he looked calmer than he felt after the hellish flight he’d just endured. “Yeah… uh, yes. We thank you for providing us with this home to stay in while we’re here.” He gave a polite bow in response, not as deep as the elder had (as per protocol), and Leo followed in his lead.

 

The elder turned on his feet and began to hobble his way up towards the house. “We have gifted you with one of the most comfortable homes here, and the entire village is available for anything that you need.” The elder was speaking, but he was speaking at an incredibly high volume, one that had a few of those gathered around backing up as he came towards them.

 

As they walked towards the house, Leo leaned over towards Takumi and whispered, “He’s… really loud.”

 

Takumi shrugged his shoulders. “Not much we can do about it, sadly. All we can do is,” and he adopted Ryoma’s stern voice, dropping his voice an octave and putting a firm look on his face, “be respectful.”

 

Leo ducked his head as he chuckled. “My brother would say the same thing. No matter how many of our elders anger him, he always remains polite and dignified. I can only last so long before I can no longer stay in the room.”

 

“Are these elders on the council?”

 

Leo nodded; up ahead, the village elder was still speaking loudly about the home, gesturing wildly at something off to the side. “Yes, sadly. They do not… approve of the new policies that Xander is implementing, nor do they like that a link to the throne has been married off, _especially_ to a Hoshidan.”

 

Takumi tilted his head to the side. “They weren’t upset that you were being married to another male?” In Hoshido, it wasn’t an actual issue, or at least Takumi had never seen it be one. He supposed it depended on the individual, but it wasn’t a legal issue, which he was grateful for.

 

“No. They’re just upset that I married _you_.”

 

Takumi puffed his chest out. “For some reason I feel like I should take that as a compliment.”

 

Leo shrugged his shoulders but his smile was still there. “You should, then.”

 

By the time their conversation had halted they had arrived at the house that they were staying in. It was very nice looking, and rather than an inn type home, it looked like an actual home that Takumi would have liked to settle down in eventually, with a welcoming entrance and surrounded by a lot of plant life. They both stepped inside of the home, Takumi instructing Leo to take his shoes off and put on the ones provided for inside the home, then holding back his chuckle when Leo struggled to balance on one foot while trying to remove his boot.

 

Takumi took Leo’s arm and helped balance him, and it was only when Leo had successfully removed both boots and put the slippers on his feet did they see the elder staring at them with a warm smile. At the intensity of his stare, both boys flushed, Takumi frowning at him as a way to try to hide his embarrassment. “Yes?”

 

The man shook his head. “Oh nothing,” he bellowed. “You two just remind me of my wife and I when we were young. Ah, young love,” he finished, hobbling around so that he could head towards the door. “I will leave you two to look around the house, and if any of you need _anything,_ do not hesitate to ask one of the villagers. They are more than willing to help you.”

 

Together they watched as he slowly walked out of the house and stayed silent until the door closed and they were left with nothing but each other.

 

Takumi inhaled and allowed the tension in his shoulders leave. He looked at his husband, who had pulled his arm out of Takumi’s grip and had linked his hands together behind his back. There was a moment where they just stood there, the awkwardness that had been there when they’d first been traveling coming back full force. Takumi shuffled his feet and then reached up to let his hair down. Once it was, he took his ribbon in his mouth and gathered his hair back up, this time making sure to tie it higher and to also tie the knot stronger; the flight had loosened his hair tie considerably, and he had only been lucky that it hadn’t come loose. Although the image of his hair slapping Leo in the face was funny to think about now that they were both safely on the ground, it wouldn’t have been funny had it happened in the air.

 

Once he was done with tying up his hair, he looked back over at his husband, who was staring openly at him. When he caught Takumi looking back, he jumped a bit and glanced away. “This is a nice hallway,” Leo said, in lieu of what he was probably really thinking.

 

Takumi nodded, and then when Leo said nothing after, Takumi leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “Now what?”

 

***

 

There were chickens in the yard behind the house.

 

Takumi had never been very fond of chickens; once, when he’d been very young, he’d thrown a rock at a chicken and had spent the next hour running away from it. Takumi had greeted the knowledge of the chickens with a scowl. His husband, on the other hand, had greeted the chickens with a full smile, crouching down on the ground and allowing one of them to hop up into his arms before he said, with an almost childlike amusement, “They’re so _fluffy_.”

 

Maybe the chickens could sense that Takumi didn’t like them, because when he knelt down next to Leo the chickens around them scurried away; the chicken in Leo’s arms propped its head on Leo’s neck and his husband let out a chuckle. Takumi watched as Leo dragged his fingers over the feathers on the neck of the chicken. “You like chickens, huh? That is something that I honestly never would have guessed.”

 

Leo shrugged. “It’s not that I really like chickens, it’s just that I like _birds_.” He stroked the head of the chicken almost fondly. “I’ve always envied the way they can fly away; when I was young and things were tough back home, I would wish that I was a bird so I could fly away from everything that was bothering me.” He flushed and let the chicken go, standing back up to grace Takumi with a sheepish smile. “Kind of silly, now that I think about it.”

 

Takumi took a good long look at him; he was reminded about how Leo had looked a few days ago at their wedding. He’d seemed in control the entire time they’d been in public, but had dropped the act once they were alone. He wondered how often Leo felt like he needed to hold himself back in front of others, and (not for the first time) wondered what it had been like for Leo, growing up in Nohr.

 

He watched as the chicken hopped away and when Leo stood up he said, “I don’t feel like going into the village this evening; I’ve had enough adventure for the day, and relaxing sounds best. What do you think?”

 

Leo paused to think. When he said, “What would you think about working on bringing out your magical ability,” in response, Takumi was honestly confused.

 

“I said I thought relaxing sounded like a good idea. Bringing out my nonexistent magical ability sounds exactly the opposite. It sounds taxing.”

 

Leo shook his head. “Not this part, how we’d start out is probably not how any teachers in Hoshido start.” He gestured for Takumi to follow him and he made his way over to the part of the yard that was covered in shade from the nearby tree. “Sit and I’ll explain.”

 

Takumi did, eyeing Leo as he dropped down as well and crossed his legs. “What are we doing?” he inquired when Leo reached out and took both of his hands.

 

“When I first began learning magic my teacher did this with me. What we’re going to do is meditate, and while doing that I’m going to push a little bit of magical energy over into you so you can get a taste of what magic feels like.” He turned Takumi’s hands so that they were palm to palm with Leo’s and closed his eyes. Takumi shut his, still not quite sure what Leo was going on about. “With meditation you’ll be able to focus on only the magical energy I’m giving you, and after a few times of doing this, your body will know how to recognize magical energy.”

 

Takumi opened one eye. “What will that do?”

 

Leo kept his eyes closed and let his body relax. “I’m wondering if your body just isn’t used to recognizing magic and that’s why you don’t think you have any magical ability.”

 

“I’ve been healed many times over the years, though.”

 

“Healing magic is different from other magic; there’s different types, and I can teach you about those later. For now, just relax your body and breathe evenly and focus on the energy that I’ll give you.”

 

Takumi, still doubting that this was even possible, followed his instructions.

 

For the first few minutes absolutely nothing happened and Takumi shifted on the spot, earning a “Stop moving,” from Leo. He immediately stopped his shifting, but after what felt like ten minutes of just sitting there, he still felt none of this _magical energy_ Leo was supposedly giving him. It was only when he felt himself nodding off to sleep did an odd sensation shoot through his body.

 

It felt like his entire body had been freezing cold for the longest time and had just been dumped into hot water; it burned and made him gasp but the second the pain got too strong it vanished. In its place was the feeling he normally had when he was curled up in his warmest blanket after a hard day outside in the cold. It reminded him of the times when he’d been young and had played hide and seek in his mother’s room; he’d hide in her warm, thick blankets and she’d pretend not to know where he was.

 

He stayed with that feeling of happiness and warmth until something forced him to pull himself out of his memories and open his eyes. In front of him, Leo was sitting as he had been when they’d started, but the gentle smile on his face, his relaxed eyes, was such a stark difference from how Leo usually held himself that Takumi could only stare. Only when there was movement in his lap did he pull his gaze away.

 

There was a chicken in his lap.

  
He stared at the chicken, who clucked at him and then laid its head down to rest on his knee. Takumi inhaled and then glanced up at Leo’s soft face again. It required too much energy to move the chicken from his lap, he reasoned, so the chicken could stay, _for now_ . He let his eyes close again to allow Leo’s magic to flow through to him once more, wanting that warm feeling to return to him. He didn’t think that this would awaken any magical ability he may have, but it wasn’t _too_ bad. The peaceful moment between the two of them was more than worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again i'm so sorry for the wait and i hope that you enjoyed!!! they finally reached their honeymoon and now all of the fun stuff can begin >:]


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They landed in prickly bushes, Takumi hitting the ground first and landing on top of what could only be a rock. Before he could make any sound, however, Leo laid down on top of him and pressed a hand to his mouth. The rock near his hip dug into his skin more and his eyes watered as Leo settled fully on top of Takumi, not one tiny piece of space left between them. “Shh,” Leo hissed, and Takumi glared at him from over the hand. He wasn’t making any sound, that was totally uncalled for. Instead of saying anything, however, he watched as Leo poked his head up and then immediately moved back down and pressed as close as he could. The rock dug into his back more and Takumi swallowed the urge to cry out.
> 
> Above them, the bear stumbled by, sniffing the air, and for a few seconds all they could do was stare into each other’s eyes. He’s really pretty, Takumi thought. It’d be a shame if he was mauled by a bear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god, first things first i need to apologize. i've been stuck in the work situation from hell, and writers block on top of that made it literally impossible to write. i'm so, sososososo sorry this took so long, and i also need to apologize about the length, normally my chapters are much longer, but it's been such a struggle to write, i didn't want to try to force out a longer chapter. 
> 
> this chapter is dedicated to my friend sheria for constantly putting up with my whining about not being able to write. you're a doll :*

In all fairness, the idea to spend the day outside together had been something they’d both agreed on, but Takumi could tell that Leo had not imagined  _ fishing _ as the activity they would be doing. In the defense of fisherman (and the fish) everywhere, fishing had been one of the activities that had helped Takumi grow closer with his brother, Ryoma, when he’d been young, and if it had helped them, surely it would help the newlyweds. Ryoma had always been the wiser of the two of them when it came to bonding.

 

" _T_ _akumi, you’re almost a man, and it’s time you learned how to take care of yourself out in the wilderness,_ ” Ryoma had said, holding up two fishing rods. “ _ This time together will allow me to teach you what my father taught me, and what you might one day teach to your son. While learning, we will be bonding. This is a good thing, we don’t spend enough time together now that you’re getting so much older. _ ”

 

Takumi, all of seven, had enthusiastically agreed. 

 

What had followed was a three day long adventure in the forest that included being chased by a bear, Ryoma discovering a new type of poisonous plant that caused one’s face to swell up, and that even in high stress situations, like being chased by a bear for a second time, Takumi was a  _ very  _ good shot with a bow. 

 

Based off of his previous experiences with fishing, Takumi had high hopes for his first fishing outing with Leo. He only hoped it would go as well as his trip with Ryoma had. 

 

The sun had been shining when they’d departed that morning, Takumi with a smile on his face and Leo looking like he’d rather be back riding that pegasus than where he currently was, but by the time they’d reached what was supposed to be the best place to fish clouds had appeared in the air, the sun had vanished, and it had started to rain heavily. Face red with embarrassment, Takumi pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes.

 

“Well, it can’t get any worse, right?”

 

The glare Leo gave him when, not even two seconds after he’d finished speaking, a bear poked its head out from the bushes next to them and growled was enough to kill a man. Instead of dying, however, Takumi gave Leo a shaky grin. “I hope you can run fast, bookworm,” he said, and that was all the warning he gave before he tossed the fishing supplies at the bear, grabbed Leo’s hand, and bolted from the clearing, the sounds of a  _ very _ pissed off bear not too far behind them. 

 

For a bookworm, Leo actually  _ could _ run fast (those nice, long legs of his definitely helped and  _ this is not the time to be thinking about that, Takumi _ !). They could hear the bear chasing after them, each step it took sounding louder than before, and in what seemed to be a spur of the moment thing, Leo tightened his grip on Takumi’s hand and pushed them both to the side and off of the trail. They landed in prickly bushes, Takumi hitting the ground first and landing on top of what could only be a rock. Before he could make any sound, however, Leo laid down on top of him and pressed a hand to his mouth. The rock near his hip dug into his skin more and his eyes watered as Leo settled fully on top of Takumi, not one tiny piece of space left between them. “Shh,” Leo hissed, and Takumi glared at him from over the hand. He wasn’t making any sound,  _ that was totally uncalled for. _ Instead of saying anything, however, he watched as Leo poked his head up and then immediately moved back down and pressed as close as he could. The rock dug into his back more and Takumi swallowed the urge to cry out.

 

Above them, the bear stumbled by, sniffing the air, and for a few seconds all they could do was stare into each other’s eyes.  _ He’s really pretty,  _ Takumi thought.  _ It’d be a shame if he was mauled by a bear. _

 

After a few seconds of sniffing, the bear continued on, but Leo kept his hand pressed down tight on Takumi’s mouth, and he used that leverage to help lift his upper body up as he checked to make sure the bear wasn’t coming back. Lips twisting painfully underneath Leo’s hand, Takumi squirmed and managed to wriggle his way out from underneath Leo’s body. “ _ Okay _ ,” he wheezed, glaring at the small rock that had been digging into his skin. “I think the bear is gone.”

 

Leo sat down across from him and pulled a leaf out of his hair. “You know, I thought you were more intelligent than that. What were you  _ thinking _ throwing the supplies at it?”

 

Takumi shrugged. “I was thinking ‘oh gods, a bear!’” As he talked, mud slipped down from his head and landed on his lips. Sputtering, Takumi wiped his mouth, then frowned when more mud dripped onto his face. Across from him, Leo lost the glare on his face and quickly hid his mouth behind his hand, but not before Takumi noticed the corners of his mouth turning up. More mud dripped onto Takumi’s face. “Are you laughing at me?”

 

“No,” Leo said calmly, and then he let out a very undignified snort when a large drop of mud with a leaf slipped down over Takumi’s eye. 

 

“You’re a very bad liar, do you know that?”

 

Leo attempted to move his bangs out of his eyes but one second later they were back to where they had been before. Takumi thought, feeling rather upset about it, that Leo still looked unfairly attractive, even sopping wet. “I think I’m a fantastic liar, actually.”

 

“Hahaha...” Takumi said, standing up and cleaning his face off the best that he could. He held out a hand to help Leo stand up. Leo glanced at it for a second, giving Takumi a calculating look before taking it. Pulling him up as quick as he could, Takumi yanked on the arm he was holding and quickly stepped to the side; the yank having caused him to lose his balance, Leo continued forward until he face planted it into the ground, having landed in a rather nice looking mud puddle.

 

Takumi couldn’t hold back his loud laughter as Leo’s body twitched in the mud. His husband stood up slowly and too late Takumi noticed the mud in his hand, and by the time Leo had turned around Takumi had yet another faceful of mud.

 

“Oh,” he said, leaning down and purposefully letting Leo see him gathering up mud. “So that’s how it’s -”

 

There was a loud growl off to their left that had them both dropping the mud they were holding. “Some other time?” Leo hissed out of the corner of his mouth. In answer, Takumi grabbed his hand and together they left the area, hoping the bear wouldn’t find them again.

 

***

 

“We’re -”

 

“No.”

 

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”   
  


“Leo….”   


  
“Okay, fine, you probably do know, but preventing me from saying it isn’t going to change the fact that we’re -”   
  


“Saying it out loud acknowledges it, and if we acknowledge it, then we’ll be proving that it’s true!”

 

“That makes absolutely no sense at all.”   
  


“It does in my head.”

 

“Takumi, w-we’re -”   
  


“ _ Don’t.” _

 

But no amount of denying it would change anything. Leo was right. They were lost. 

 

They’d been wandering around the forest for what felt like hours, shivering in their cold and wet clothes and pressed close together to keep warm. Leo was shivering more than him, it seemed, not having warm furs to keep him warm and every few words he would stutter, and he was pressing closer and closer to Takumi without even noticing. With a sigh, Takumi wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulders. “There’s a cave up ahead, let’s go wait in there until the rain stops at least.”

 

“H-hopefully there isn’t a bear.”

 

Takumi gave him a small smile, but they both kept quiet as they made the trip up into the cave, which was, thankfully, bear free. As he entered, Leo’s lips turned downward just enough to get Takumi’s attention. “What is it?”

 

Leo moved further into the cave. “Does it feel warm to you?”

 

Takumi stood still; the air around him just felt cold, like it had all day since it started raining. “No, not really, why?”

 

When he turned back to look at Leo, however, he noticed that his husband had moved further into the cave. “ _ Leo _ ,” he rushed forward, just as Leo turned the corner and vanished from his sight. “Gods, Leo, at least tell me when you’re going to be taking off!”

 

The closer he got to the corner Leo had turned around, though, the more he felt that warm air Leo had been talking about. As he turned the corner, he was greeted with Leo standing in front of what seemed to be a hot spring. “Oh,” Takumi said as he walked over. “Do you think it’s safe?”

 

Leo bent down and stuck his into the water. He pulled it out quickly, hissing.

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s hot and I’m so cold that it hurts,” Leo said, but instead of moving away, he sat down on the ground and began taking his boots off. Once the boots were gone, he rolled up his pants and slowly stuck his feet into the water, grimacing at the heat but sighing a few seconds later as he adjusted to the feeling. “It feels nice now,” he said, his back slouching as he relaxed. 

 

“Well then,” Takumi said, and he promptly began stripping his clothes off. Once he was left in only his underwear he moved to sit beside Leo, who stared wide eyed at his state of dress. “What,” he said at Leo’s stare, after he’d gotten used to the hot water on his skin. “The steam will help dry my clothes and I figure once I’m used to the temperature I’ll just get in completely.” He eyed Leo’s wet clothing. “You should get in too.”

 

Leo just continued to stare until a rather strong shiver had him turning his gaze to the clothes still on his body. “You… you do have a point.” He pulled his legs out of the water and stood, turning his body away from Takumi as he began to take off his shirt. “Avert your eyes,” he said firmly.

 

“Leo, I’m not even look-”

 

“ _Av_ _ ert your eyes! _ ”

 

Takumi rolled his eyes but obeyed and turned his body, trying to not focus on the sounds of Leo’s clothes hitting the cave floor. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Leo’s long legs coming closer and he turned his body even more. There was a splash, a sharp intake of air, and then Leo said, “Okay, you can look.”

 

When Takumi did turn around, Leo was fully submerged in the water, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. “It’s not too hot?”

 

Leo shook his head, and when he spoke his voice slurred a little bit, “Not at all. It feels really good actually.”

 

Takumi chuckled. “You sound like you’re about to fall asleep.”

 

“I might be.”

 

Watching to make sure Leo’s eyes stayed closed (although it wouldn’t have mattered, considering they’d already seen each other naked), Takumi pulled off the rest of his clothes and slid into the water. It did sting at first, his cold skin reacting to the heat of the water, but after a few seconds in the water, the stinging started to go away and the heat started to feel more pleasurable. “Oh,” he said.

 

“It feels nice, right?” 

 

Takumi cracked open an eye; only Leo’s head was visible above the water, and he had a cute flush covering his nose and cheeks. “It does. Kind of makes everything that came before this a little worth it, don’t you think?” A second later his face was met with a splash of water.

 

“No,” Leo said, sounding more awake. “It is most definitely not worth it.”

 

Takumi frowned. “I’m just saying, not everything turned out horribly.”

 

Leo opened one eye and managed a very powerful glare. “Takumi.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I’m trying to warm up. Let’s have some quiet.”

 

Takumi huffed but obeyed; the water felt better than arguing with Leo anyway. They stayed in the water, silent, until the water made Takumi feel a bit too warm. He grabbed the wall and pulled himself out, not minding that he was giving Leo a full view of his body; Leo had turned so his back was facing Takumi, arms resting on the edge of the and his head resting on his arms. “So,” Leo said suddenly. He turned his body a little bit and glanced at Takumi out of the corner of his eye. “Not shy, are we?”

 

Ignoring the flush that was slowly creeping up his face, Takumi shrugged and pulled his hair out of the bindings. “Nothing you haven’t already seen,”  _ or felt, _ his mind helpfully added on. At Leo’s face suddenly turning a bright red, Takumi froze. “I said that out loud didn’t I?”

 

Leo nodded. “Uh… I mean, it’s true though so…” he cleared his throat, and then started again, “I mean… What I really wanted to ask was why you were so eager to go fishing, of all things?”

 

Takumi wrapped the ribbon around his wrist and tied it. “It’s kind of a dumb reason, thinking back on it. It was just the kind of things that my brother and I would do together to get to know each other. The older he got, the more duties he had, so it was our special time, and I was kind of hoping to use it to get to know you better.”

 

The smile Leo gave him was relaxed and beautiful. “You know, you could have just said that, I seriously believed you were just that eager to go fishing.”

 

Takumi chuckled. “No, but I do have to say it turned out to be a rather interesting day, almost being mauled by a bear, almost freezing to death... at least we can’t say it was boring.”

 

Leo shook his head. “It definitely was not boring, I’ll give you that. It did lead to finding this little place. If we can find our way back here, I wouldn’t mind coming back every once in a while, provided we don’t have to get chased by a bear each time.”

 

Takumi frowned, slipping back into the water to get his hair wet again. “Oh no, we’ll definitely leave the bear out of it.”

 

“Good,” Leo said, and they fell back into their comfortable silence.

 

Takumi stared at his back, watching each breath that he took, and he swallowed loudly. Leo looked so relaxed, the most relaxed he’d ever seen him, and the urge to kiss him was building up. Moving before he lost his courage, Takumi swam over to Leo’s side and gently grasped his shoulder. Leo opened his eyes and sat up straight. “What is it?”

 

Takumi bit his lip; looking Leo in the eye was making it harder to ask, but he actually managed to say it before he could stop himself. “Is it alright if I kiss you?”

 

He was delighted to learn that Leo flushed all the way to the tips of his ears, but the nod Leo gave him was just as exciting. He leaned in just as Leo did, tilted his head as Leo did and - 

 

“Ow!”

 

Takumi pulled back, hand to his nose. “Probably shouldn’t close my eyes before I kiss you, huh?”

 

Leo rubbed his nose, but he didn’t pull away completely. “Probably not,” he said instead, and then before Takumi could respond Leo leaned in and pressed their lips together. 

 

Kissing Leo like this was a lot different from kissing him on their wedding night. On their wedding night, they’d both been nervous, not quite ready to be married but also willing to do what needed to be done. For their countries, of course. This kiss felt easier, because it was something they both wanted to do, a decision they had both made with nothing else pressuring them from the background. 

 

Leo’s jaw was relaxed, and if Takumi focused, he thought he could feel Leo’s lips turning upward just a little bit in a smile, and he wanted to feel  _ more _ . He wrapped his arm around Leo’s waist under the water and pulled him forward. Leo let out a squeak and pulled back, leaving Takumi a little bit disappointed and also a little confused. 

 

“Um,” Leo said, that adorable flush returning to his face and ears. “I think that’s probably enough of that.” 

 

Just as he was about to ask why, he paid attention to just how close their bodies were, and that something was pressing against his thigh and - “Oh!” He let Leo go and settled a bit of a distance away. “Sorry about that…”

 

Leo shook his head. “Call me cheesy but… I’d have to say  _ that _ was worth the trouble we went through today.”

 

“You’re right, you are cheesy,” he replied, and the response from Leo was more water to the face. “What? I was just agreeing with you.” 

 

Leo leaned back against the wall again but there was a smile on his face, and when Takumi moved to press their shoulders against each other Leo's smile grew and, "Yeah, this result was definitely worth being chased by a bear."

 

"Let's not do it again, though."

 

"Oh gods, no. Never again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry that it's not super long, the next few chapters probably won't be as long as the first two were either, at least until i can get back into the rhythm i'd been in before things got crazy. anyway, i hope you enjoyed and i also hope to see you in the following chapters too!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys, i am again SO SORRY for the wait. i have no excuses except for work and just no motivation really. i'm hoping that's behind me now - work has settled down now, and there's less stress too. i hope you enjoy the chapter though! it's sort of a filler one, which can be kind of boring, but the next chapter will be fun, as we're entering "purposefully doing romantic things for each other" territory.

Takumi woke up in the middle of the night when he felt something freezing press against his back. He jolted, sitting partially up in the bed and attempted to steady himself on his elbow as he sleepily turned to see what had touched him. Next to him, Leo was curled up facing the opposite direction, and as Takumi squinted to see if he could make out what was so cold, he noticed Leo’s legs facing towards him. He narrowed in on them and followed them with his eyes. It took longer than he’d liked for his tired brain to realize that Leo’s feet were the cold object that had woken him up and he frowned.

 

“No.”

 

He picked up Leo’s feet and dropped them back on Leo’s side of the bed. Leo let out a tiny whine and pulled his legs closer to him. Normally, Takumi might have thought that was cute, but he was tired and Leo’s feet were freezing, so he pushed his bottom lip out in a sleepy pout, told Leo’s feet to stay where they were, and then let his body drop back down on to the bed. He was just drifting off to sleep when he felt something freezing press up against his back and his eyes shot open.

 

“Are you kidding me?”

 

He rolled over and glared at Leo’s back, then aggressively pushed Leo’s feet away. “ _Stay_ ,” he told the feet again, and then he pulled the blankets up and pressed it firmly against his back and closed his eyes.

 

Not a minute later Leo was pressing his ice cold feet against his back. Now almost completely awake, Takumi gripped the blanket in his hands tightly and inhaled slowly, counted to three, then exhaled just as slowly. “Fine, if _that’s_ how it’s going to be…” he muttered as he turned around and pushed Leo’s feet away _again_. This time, he took one of the pillows that wasn’t being used and placed it up against his back, hoping it would be enough of a barrier that if Leo’s feet decided to find him again, he wouldn’t feel the cold. He gave Leo’s sleeping form one last glare before settling back down to sleep. As expected, Leo’s feet eventually pressed up against his back, but thanks to the pillow, he didn’t feel the cold. Satisfied, he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

 

He woke up what seemed to be not even ten minutes later when Leo’s feet pressed their freezing toes up against his back again. He sighed heavily and sat up in bed, resolved to sleeping somewhere that wasn’t his bed for the night. It had been raining for two days straight, and normally Takumi wouldn’t have minded having Leo’s freezing feet pressed against him, but with how cold the weather had been, he just couldn’t handle having more cold around him.

 

As he got up from the bed, he took the pillows and the spare blanket he’d been using and left his husband with his freezing feet on the bed, hoping that he’d at least get a little bit of sleep that night. He settled down in the warmest area of the room and wrapped himself in the blanket. From the bed, Leo let out a snore.

 

As it turned out, he got very little sleep, between the cold, the hard floor, and Leo’s occasional snoring, and was still sporting a frown on his face when Leo joined him in at the table the next morning. When Leo greeted him, looking like he’d slept well (Takumi was only judging by how damn put together Leo looked, even with his bedhead and too fluffy looking sweater), Takumi just frowned harder.

 

“Good morning,” Leo said while getting himself something to drink, and Takumi scoffed mentally, how _dare_ he act like he was not the reason Takumi barely slept?

 

“Sure,” he said, watching as Leo moved to sit next to him at the table. Leo seemed to be moving slower than usual, but Takumi wasn’t sure if that was because Leo was moving slowly or if it was because he was running on little sleep. The white sweater he was wearing made him look even more pale than usual, but it made his eyes stand out, and Takumi hated that he was too grumpy to appreciate how nice it looked on him.

 

He continued to stare at him while Leo took a sip, and a few minutes later, Leo placed his cup down and turned to fully face him. “Is there something wrong?”

 

Takumi’s eyes immediately looked down at Leo’s socked feet. “Your feet get _freezing_ at night, it’s a problem that we need to fix.” He would not snap, he told himself. Leo had been asleep the whole time, and it wasn’t like he’d been doing it on purpose, as far as Takumi was aware.

 

Leo also looked down at his feet. “Oh, I didn’t know. I hope that hasn’t been an ongoing issue for you.”

 

“I’d noticed it before but it wasn’t a problem until last night,” he grumbled out.

 

“Oh… so I take it that for you it _isn’t_ a good morning.”

 

“ _Not particularly._ ”

 

Leo flushed a bit, but didn’t avert his gaze. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but you’re very warm to sleep next to, so I assume that because it has been so cold the past few days, in my sleep I was seeking some warm. I apologize that it was an issue.”  


Takumi shook his head. “You didn’t know you were doing it, so it’s fine,” he said, ignoring the fact that him missing sleep because of _cold feet_ wasn’t fine at all. “You should just wear socks to bed when it’s cold out, that way your feet will stay warm and my back won’t suffer.” _Or my sleep._

 

“Oh… I don’t think that will work.”

 

 _What_?

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“I don’t like socks.”

 

Takumi looked pointedly down at Leo’s feet. “Yeah, I think the fact that you’re wearing socks right now is telling a different story.”

 

“I mean I don’t like wearing them at night.” Leo crossed his legs and folded his arms, and Takumi watched as he started bouncing one of his socked feet up and down as he continued to talk. “Socks come off easily, or at least come off partially and even when I’m asleep I tend to notice those things, and it keeps me awake.”

 

Before he could stop himself, Takumi blurted out, “Well, your ice cold feet keep _me_ awake at night, so we kind of have a problem.”

 

Leo’s eyes narrowed. “I see…” He frowned as well. “You are rather irritable this morning.”

 

“ _Well_ , if someone doesn’t sleep then _yes they can be irritable._ I experienced this with you two days ago, Mr. Grumpy," Leo's eyes narrowed even more and while Takumi was exhausted, he wasn't stupid, and he moved on from the subject. " Are you _sure_ you can’t wear socks at night? Are they really that  much of a bother that you can’t make this a small sacrifice? For your _husband_?” Takumi forced his tone to be as carefree as he could get it but he could tell Leo didn't buy it. He really needed to get some sleep soon.

 

Leo looked a little surprised, but then he glared. “I think part of this is because you’re tired, but are my feet being cold that much of an issue to you?”

 

Takumi took a deep breath. He hated how easy it was for him to get angry at things when he was sleep deprived. “Yes, at least right now it is. And, okay... I’m sorry, I’m really irritated because I’m tired, and the tiniest things right now are pissing me off.”

 

Leo nodded, “That’s understandable,” he started to say, when Takumi cut him off.

 

“Like that, right there, you’re being _understanding_.”

 

Now Leo just looked confused. “And that makes you upset?”

 

“ _Yes_ , and please don’t ask me to explain why, I can barely think straight as it is.”

 

“I see,” Leo said, placing one hand under his chin. “I read about this,” is what he finally said a moment later.

 

“You read about what?”

 

Leo pointed between them. “I’ve been doing reading on arranged marriages and also romantic relationships in general due to my… complete inexperience in both areas.”

 

“Do you always talk like you’re a teacher giving a lecture?”

 

Leo shot him a look before continuing. “I’ve read about how people who didn’t know each other before have issues dealing with living together. Sometimes it’s hard to find a compromise regarding things, and, if I’m remembering the book correctly, there will be things we find that our spouses do that will infuriate us.”

 

Takumi raise an eyebrow at him, feeling his tired anger starting to slip away bit by bit; Leo looked cute when he was reciting things. “Like your feet somehow never being able to stay warm at night?’

 

“Yes, and like how you seem to have a bad habit of tapping your fingers when you sit for long periods at a time.”

 

“I tap my fingers?”

 

Leo gestured down at his hands and sure enough, when he looked down his fingers were tapping on top of his thigh. He lifted the hand and ran it through his hair, feeling slightly embarrassed.

 

“Wow, I hadn’t even noticed.”

 

“It gets annoying when I’m trying to read, because it keeps drawing my focus away from the book. You also tend to twirl a strand of hair between your fingers when you’re bored, and not to mention the fact that sometimes when you sleep you can get quite animated...” Leo paused, looking like he was contemplating something. “I’ll make you a deal; we’re mature adults who are married so we’ll need to compromise a lot in our relationship. Let’s start here.”

 

“Okay, what is it?”

 

“I’ll start wearing socks to bed if you’ll allow me to point out that you’re doing that tapping thing and the hair twirling whenever I notice it without getting angry for me pointing it out.”

 

That was it? Takumi immediately held out his hand. “I mean, I think I’m getting the better deal here, so we can definitely agree on that.”

 

Leo shook his hand, then grinned. “It feels a little weird to be shaking hands with your husband but, I’m not sure how anyone else agrees to deals outside of a handshake.” He suddenly frowned. “Aside from what Niles has told me, which we most definitely will not be following his advice, _ever_.”

 

“From what little I’ve experienced of Niles, I know enough that I’m not going to ask.” The smile Leo gave him was almost enough to make up for the cold feet (and also the listing of things he did that Leo found annoying), but a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him and he shook his head. “As lovely as us pointing out the things we find annoying about each other is, I think I’m going to actually take a nap instead of continuing. I haven’t taken one in years but I’m exhausted and need to sleep.” He covered his mouth as he yawned. “I know we were going to continue working on seeing if I had any magical ability again today, but I think if I tried meditating I’d just fall asleep.”

 

Leo remained seated as Takumi left the room, looking outside the window across from him and watching the rain. He looked lovely, and Takumi probably would have stayed to admire him had he not been so tired. “I think I’m going to do more reading today. I did want to go into town but walking in this weather doesn’t sound pleasing.”

 

Takumi hid another yawn behind his hand and was heading out when Leo let out a cough. It sounded rough and from his chest, and it had Takumi pausing in the doorway. “Are you getting sick?”

 

Leo shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

 

“Seriously, Leo are you getting sick?”

 

Leo stood up and walked towards him. “I’m fine, I don’t get sick. I hope you have a nice rest,” he said as he moved past him.

 

Takumi frowned, but his exhaustion made itself known again and decided to ignore it. He was too tired to object to the fact that everyone got sick.

 

Hours later, he emerged from their room feeling much better than he had earlier, and after remembering that morning, he felt an urge to apologize to Leo. He’d snapped at him and while Leo had seemed to understand, he still felt a little bad. It had technically been Leo’s fault for why he hadn’t gotten sleep, but Takumi could have been the bigger man and not taken his anger out on him. He sighed, then headed towards the small study room, where Leo was surely going to be. He said Leo’s name to signal his coming in and when he didn’t hear anything from inside he slid the door open and was greeted with Leo staring out the window, a book open on his lap.

 

“Reading anything interesting?” he asked as he walked forward.

 

“Takumi,” Leo said, and his voice sounded stuffy.  


“Wow, was the book so good you’re crying from it?” However, when he picked up the book Leo had been reading he noticed it was a book on Hoshidan gardening. “Okay, I guess the book didn’t make you emotional, unless you really get upset over the language of flowers and facts about plants.”

 

“It’s not that,” Leo said again. “I think you were right.”

 

“About what?”

 

“About being sick.”

 

When Takumi moved to get a good look at Leo, he noticed Leo’s shaking hands, his flushed skin, and that he looked rather dazed, like someone had hit him in the head and he couldn’t focus. He leaned forward and pressed his hand to Leo’s head. “Yeah, I’d definitely say you’re sick.” He set the book down and then leaned to help Leo stand up. “How about we get you back in bed?”

 

“I really don’t get sick that often,” Leo was saying to him, his steps clumsy as they moved out of the study room. “I was reading and then I couldn’t make out the words on the page. I think I can read Hoshidan well, at least for a foreigner, but I couldn’t make anything out; everything was swimming.”

 

“That’d be the fever, I think.”

 

“You’re warm,” Leo whispered, leaning heavily against him. Takumi wrapped his arm tighter around him when he started shivering. “It’s really cold right now.”

 

“I think part of that is your fever too.”

 

“Fevers are useful though,” Leo slurred out as Takumi maneuvered him into their room and helped him lay down on the bed. “It’s your body attempting to…” he paused, looking confused for a split second before continuing with, “attempting to burn your illness out of you.”

 

“Well aren’t you just full of facts,” he chuckled, pulling the blankets up and making sure Leo had enough pillows.

 

“I like facts,” Leo whispered, giving him a small smile. “Did you know that more arranged marriages tend to not work out?”

 

Takumi swallowed. “I did not know that for sure, I assumed some would though.”

 

Leo burrowed more into his blankets. “I would like for ours to not follow that statistic… I hope you feel the same.”

 

Takumi’s cheeks burned. “I, uh.. I would actually like that too. For our marriage to work out, not for it to fail, I mean. Um…” he rubbed the back of his head. “Let’s save that conversation for when you’re not sick, though, how about that?”

 

Leo nodded. “I should probably sleep.” He didn’t bother saying anything else and his eyes slipped closed.

 

Takumi sat next to him on the bed and looked at him. Prince Leo of Nohr, one of the most feared mages, in both countries. He was capable of bringing any enemy down, they said, and his magical ability was essentially unmatched. When war had been the only option, Leo had been someone their armies had been told to watch out for. Back then, Takumi only had the tellings of others to go off of, and the image of Leo that his mind had created had been someone ugly, someone who used underhanded tactics to win, someone he would have loved to have taken down in battle.

 

Now, he chuckled at his prior image of Leo. “You’re not so scary like this,” he said softly, and Leo slept on peacefully. “I’m attracted to you,” Takumi confessed. “I’m only telling you this while you sleep because telling you when you’re able to respond is scary. In any other situation, I don’t think we would have gotten along quite as well as we have, but I’d like to think in time we would have been friends.”

 

Leo coughed and shifted under the blankets.

 

“Aaah, I don’t know what I’m doing,” Takumi whined, placing his head in his hands. “I sound kind of pathetic, talking to a sleeping man.” Leo coughed again, and Takumi bent to press a kiss to his forehead. “I better be a good husband and get you some medication, huh?” He didn’t move, however. “You know, you have cold feet, and sometimes when you eat something tasty you make the weirdest sounds; don’t get me wrong, they’re cute, but over the past few days you’ve made so many it’s almost like you’ve never eaten food at all. You like tomatoes _too_ much, honestly, and I’m sure you’ll never admit it, but you _do_ snore. It’s not loud, but yes, you do snore. I’ll tell you this when you’re awake too, but I like that I’m comfortable enough that I’m not worried about telling you that those things are annoying to me.”

 

Leo continued to sleep.

 

“Wow, I _need_ to stop talking to you while you sleep, it’s kind of creepy.” He gave Leo’s forehead one last kiss before standing up from the bed. He dressed in his warmest outfit and slipped his shoes on and readied himself to head out in the pouring rain. “I can’t believe I’m going out in the rain to get medicine for you. I am such a considerate husband, you’re really lucky that you were married to me.”

 

On the bed, Leo let out the smallest snore.

 

“I’m taking that as an agreement.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I had one of these back at the castle,” Leo mumbled, drawing the softly glowing blanket up to his chin, eyes closed. “I forgot to bring it with me but I had missed it.”
> 
> Takumi snickered. “Was it your baby blanket?”
> 
> Leo opened one eye at him. “I have it on good authority that you still have one of your dolls that you played with as a child, so you’re not one to talk.”
> 
> Takumi spluttered. “Wha- no! I do NOT have - how did you find out?”
> 
> Leo flushed, and whether it was because of the fever or embarrassment Takumi wasn’t sure. “I didn’t, that was just…. Do you really have a doll?”

Takumi had helped out with his little sister when she’d gotten sick once, so he believed that he had a somewhat idea of what it was like to take care of an ill person. He also remembered that when he’d been sick he’d really liked having a warm cloth put over his forehead, and being propped up so he could breathe had felt nice as well. However, he wasn’t sure about the medicine that Leo would probably need, since his cough sounded rather awful and had he had come down with it rather quickly.

 

The local healer had let him in with a rather wide smile on his face when he’d seen who was waiting at his door. “What can I do to help you, Prince Takumi?”

 

The smile on his face was stretched so far Takumi feared his skin would rip. “My husband is ill and I’m looking for some medication for him.”

 

“Oh,” the healer said, turning around and heading towards a cabinet close by. “Yes, right, your husband, the one from Nohr…” the healer coughed and then smiled even more; Takumi’s cheeks hurt. “What are his symptoms?”

 

Takumi shuffled his feet as he waited for the healer to look through his medicine. “He has a fever and before I left he’d coughed a little bit, but I don’t know if that’s from his illness or not.”

 

“Probably is,” the man muttered, pulling a bottle from the cabinet and then leaving to enter some room Takumi couldn’t see. “Was it sudden or did it seem too take time before his illness got worse?”

 

“Uh… it was sudden, I think?”

 

When the healer came out, he was holding a giant blanket, three bottles, and what looked like a bottle of wine. Both of Takumi’s eyes rose up on his forehead as the man walked towards him and dumped the bundle in his arms. The top most bottle toppled over and Takumi scrambled to catch it without dropping it.

 

“That blanket there will work off his magic to keep him warm, a fine Hoshidan creation if I may say so myself, and in the bottles there is medication for his cough, the fever, and the last one is to help him sleep if he has any trouble.” He then explained how much of each Leo was supposed to take, and Takumi made sure to remember which ones had which measurements.

 

Takumi nodded at the bottle of wine. “And… what’s this for?”

 

“Oh,” was the response, and the healer took the wine bottle from Takumi. “That’s for me.”

 

After that, Takumi was ushered to the door, the healer stating that if Leo got worse, to bring him to the man and he would personally check him over. Takumi mentally added that they would just summon him to their place instead of making Leo travel but the man looked uncomfortable enough that Takumi himself was getting uncomfortable so he gave his thanks and left the house.

 

Thankfully the rain had died down a bit by the time he’d left, so after a minute of struggling with his umbrella he gave up and made a dash back to his home. By the time he’d finally made it inside, nearly dropping the blanket and the medicine bottles twice, Leo was awake and propped up on a pillow, a book in his hands that Takumi knew hadn’t been in the room when he’d left, and when he saw the pile of items in Takumi’s arms he raised an eyebrow. “Did you buy a medicine store?”

 

Takumi walked forward and dumped the items on the bed, reaching into the pile to grab the medication that he’d been given. “I think the healer panicked a little when I told him it was you that was ill.” He placed the medicine near Leo’s leg and then held up the blanket. “He said that this blanket would react to your magic and would warm up if you wanted it to? I don’t know exactly how it works, but I figure you would be able to work it better than I could explain it.”

 

He handed it to Leo, and the second he took it the blanket grew a soft red and Leo hugged it to his chest. “I had one of these back at the castle,” Leo mumbled, drawing the softly glowing blanket up to his chin, eyes closed. “I forgot to bring it with me but I had missed it.”

 

Takumi snickered. “Was it your baby blanket?”

 

Leo opened one eye at him. “I have it on good authority that you still have one of your dolls that you played with as a child, so you’re not one to talk.”

 

Takumi spluttered. “Wha- no! I do NOT have - how did you find out?”

 

Leo flushed, and whether it was because of the fever or embarrassment Takumi wasn’t sure. “I didn’t, that was just…. Do you really have a _doll_?”

 

Not sure of how to respond, Takumi picked up the nearest thing and chucked it at Leo. It happened to be the medicine bottle, and it bounced off of Leo’s forehead and fell to his lap and the two of them stared at it. Leo held one hand to his forehead and Takumi could have sworn he was pouting. “That was rude.”

 

Takumi shrugged. “I feel like it was earned.”

 

“I’m _ill_.”

 

“Oh boo hoo,” he replied, leaning over to push Leo back against the pillows. “Time for your medicine.”

 

“You have the worst bedside manner.”

 

Takumi rolled his eyes and picked up the medicine, a retort on the tip of his tongue about how his bedside manner was the best and that Leo had better appreciate it when Leo started coughing. It was rough, and it sounded painful, and by the end of it Leo was curled up on his side, wheezing as he breathed. Biting back what he was going to say, Takumi leaned over and gathered Leo in his arms to help settle him back to being propped up by the pillows. “Okay, serious time here,” he said softly, standing up so he could go get Leo a drink of water. “You should probably take your medicine.”

 

Leo coughed weakly into his fist. “That would probably be best, even if it doesn’t sound appealing.”

 

“Medicine is never appealing,” Takumi called out as he left the room. When he returned to their room, Leo had wrapped the magic blanket around him and had closed his eyes again. He looked like he had when Takumi had left for the healer’s and Takumi frowned when he placed his hand on Leo’s forehead and noticed that he seemed warmer than before. It could have been that Takumi was still cold from being outside, but he didn’t think that was it. “A little too much excitement?” he teased, and Leo cracked open an eye. Takumi held up the water and Leo slowly sat up.

 

“Maybe just a bit too much.” Leo took a sip of water and then eyed the medicine. “Do I?”

 

Takumi raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t be a baby, it doesn’t taste _that_ bad.” By memory Takumi knew that the medicine really did taste that bad, but the healer had told him that Leo’s cough could get worse without the medication, and didn’t want a war between Hoshido and Nohr to happen because he let his husband die from a cough.

 

Leo chewed his lip but took the medicine that Takumi had measured out; Takumi held out the water glass that Leo promptly grabbed the moment he’d finished swallowing the medicine. “Baby,” Takumi teased, and Leo sent him a glare. When he put the bottle down on the table by the bed, he noticed the book that Leo had put down. It was a beginners guide to reading Hoshidan from what he could tell, and Leo had only made it a few pages in before he’d returned home. “What’s that?” he asked more out of politeness than anything.

 

“Oh,” Leo picked the book up and opened it. “I am not that well versed in Hoshidan, so I figured that since I’m going to be living here, I need to learn how to speak and write it.”

 

Before Leo could look at the book again fully, Takumi took it from his hands and scanned the page. It was all in Nohrian, which told him everything he needed to know. “Okay, first things first,” he said, holding the book out of Leo’s reach when his husband tried to take it back, “is that this book? It was written by a Nohrian, so it is obviously going to be worthless when it comes to teaching you _anything_ about my language.”

 

“Hey! I take offense to tha-”

 

“Second,” Takumi said, lightly hitting Leo over the head with the book before tossing it over his shoulder, “I am a _much_ better teacher than that crappy book will ever be.”

 

Thirty minutes later, Leo had wrapped himself up in the magic blanket and was glaring at Takumi from underneath it. “A ‘much better teacher’, huh?”

 

Takumi flushed. “In my defense I taught Sakura her alphabet easily!”

 

“I’m beginning to question your ability, even that ‘crappy book’ at least taught me _something_.”

 

Pride hurt, Takumi plopped down on the bed next to Leo. “It wasn’t _that_ bad.”

 

“Takumi, with your guidance, I spelled out ‘let us travel beans abroad firepit’ when I was supposed to be saying ‘hello, my name is Leo’.”

 

“Your writing is just not that good,” Takumi said, holding up the sheet that Leo had written on. “See, if you corrected this area here, it would say name instead of beans, and if you-”

 

He was cut off, however, when he felt a weight land on his side, and when he looked over Leo had pulled his legs up and completely wrapped the blanket around him, and he was now leaning against Takumi’s side. Takumi moved his shoulder and surprised a chuckle when Leo’s head bobbed.

 

“Hey, are you asleep?”

 

Leo didn’t give a response, and when Takumi moved his shoulder again Leo slid down his side and his head landed firmly on Takumi’s thigh. “Did I really put you to sleep with my lessons?”

 

Leo let out a snore.

 

With a sigh, Takumi pulled Leo up and placed him so he was sleeping on the pillow, and he meant to move off the bed, maybe go and try that meditation technique Leo had taught him to see if he could feel any latent magic inside him, but the magic blanket was so warm and Takumi had always been someone who could fall asleep easily if he was warm enough and, honestly, there was no harm in having another lazy day. So he curled up next to Leo, pressed close to the blanket enough that he could feel the warmth drifting off of it, and fell asleep.

 

 

***

 

“Oh dear gods, my head is _throbbing_.”

 

“Takumi.”

 

“Did your head throb this much? It feels like it’s going to _explode_.”

 

“Takumi....”

 

“I can’t breathe out my nose either, this is _awful_.”

 

“ _T_ _akumi_ , _husband dearest._ ”

 

“What?”

 

“Please, _please_ , just _shut up_.”

 

Takumi looked to his left and sent Leo a glare. “I’m _sick_ , because I spent the last three days taking care of you, I can complain for as long as I want.”

 

Leo poked his head out from his blanket and returned his husband’s glare. “In case you forgot, I am also still sick.”

 

Takumi had woken up that morning feeling like he’d been run over by a horse; the body aches and the stuffed nose was enough to tell him that he’d definitely caught what Leo had been ill with for the past few days. He blamed his husband for the entire situation. They had spent the morning laying in bed, occasionally moaning (and not the kind Takumi would have prefered), and on Takumi’s part, complaining.

 

“You know,” he said, somehow unable to keep his mouth shut even though his head was pounding. He’d never dealt with complete silence well. “When I was younger, my mother would often make this soup for me, no matter how sick I was. Did your mother do anything like that for you?”

 

He didn’t get a response from Leo for a good few minutes, and when he did it was short, almost like it had to be forced out. “No.”

 

Takumi shifted, unable to find a comfortable position on the bed. He’d always hated body aches for this exact reason, and normally a hot bath would help soothe the pains, but getting over to the bath now would have required actually getting up from the bed, and he was not going to be doing that just yet. Normally he could have relied on Hinata helping him to the baths if he was sick, but their retainers, or rather Leo’s single retainer, had already left for Nohr at Leo’s request, and Hinata and Oboro had stayed at the castle when Takumi had asked. They hadn’t been happy about it, but having his retainers follow him around on their honeymoon would have felt… awkward, to say the least. On the plus side, it also showed people that Leo and Takumi trusted each other, and therefore that Hoshido and Nohr trusted each other.  

 

Next to him, Leo made a sound like he was going to say something, but instead pulled the blanket up to his chin and stared at him. Uncomfortable, Takumi looked back up at the ceiling. “What is it?”

 

“I’m not sure if my question would be considered presumptuous or not, considering the context.”

 

“Well, that would depend on your question, so I don’t know.”

 

Leo fell silent again, then inhaled. “What was your mother like?”

 

“Which one?”

 

At that, Leo appeared fully from the blanket, looking as though he was trying to not appear as interested as he was. “Are you saying that Queen Mikoto wasn’t your only mother?”

 

“Ah, well there’s a story there,” Takumi said as he pulled himself up to rest so he was sitting up rather than laying down. “Queen Mikoto married my father when I was really young, just a little after Sakura was born. His first queen, my birth mother, died a little bit after that.”

 

Leo, who had sat up with Takumi, ducked his head a bit. “My condolences.”

 

Touched, Takumi continued. “I was old enough to remember my mother, so it was hard to just accept her as my new mother, and I’m sure I gave her a lot of trouble when I was younger. I was stubborn, and to me she was just someone who had moved in and taken my actual mother’s spot, but…” Takumi paused and a fond smile grew on his face. “One day her legs must have fallen asleep in court, because when she stood up she fell into the fountain, and I remember laughing _so hard_ .” At the memory he let out a little chuckle and shook his head. “I wasn’t supposed to be in the court; I had snuck in and was hiding behind one of the plants, and so when mother left the room, she took me with her and asked if she at least looked elegant while falling into the water. It was the first time she’d made me laugh and I guess that was when things started being a little easier. It was still hard, definitely, because she wasn’t my _mother_ , you know? But she eventually did become a mom to me and…”

 

A hand appeared on his cheek and stroked, and it took a second for Takumi to realize that he had started crying. When he locked eyes with Leo, Leo’s cheeks turned red and he pulled his hand away. “Sorry, you just… ah… You were saying?”

 

 

Takumi reached up and wiped the tears away from his other eye. “She wasn’t just a mom too, she was a friend, someone I felt like I could talk to because she would always listen to what I was saying, you know?”

 

At that Leo looked away. “...I have one last question?”

 

Wiping his eyes again, Takumi sniffed. “Uh huh?”

 

When he asked, Leo’s voice was soft, and Takumi was surprised to hear that his voice cracked a bit. “While she was alive, did your birth mother and Queen Mikoto ever fight?”

 

Takumi shrugged his shoulder. “Eh, I mean they sometimes argued over clothes that they wanted Sakura to wear that day, but it was all in good fun. They mostly got along though. Why do you ask?”

 

Leo opened his mouth, took a shaky breath and said, “My family… growing up was not like yours. My mother was not kind, nor caring for others beside herself.” Leo gave him a crooked smile. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you about it but I’d rather save that lovely conversation for another day.”

 

Frowning at the information he’d received, Takumi watched as Leo stumbled out of the bed. His husband fiddled with his hands as he stood in front of him. “What are you doing?”

 

“I’m feeling a little better, and I’m probably healthier than you considering I’ve had this illness longer. You’ve taken very nice care of me while I was sick so I believe it is time for me to return the favor. Uh…” Leo held a hand to his chin, then snapped his fingers. “I bet you have body aches, right? I did, so what would you say to a warm bath?”

 

Before Takumi could say anything, Leo leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, his lips a little cracked from being ill and rough against his cheek, gave him a small smile and then left the room. After he’d gone, Takumi fell back against the pillows with a groan. “Why do I feel like he’s doing this just to avoid any questions I might have had?”

 

When he didn’t receive a response he sighed, then held a hand up to where Leo had kissed him. He flushed red and curled up on his side, pulling the blanket over his head. “Gods help me, I have it _bad_.”

 

He was still curled up when Leo came back into the room, holding a bathrobe over his arm and slippers in his hands. Seeming to ignore how flustered his husband was, he helped Takumi sit up, then put the slippers on his feet and began to walk him to the bathing area. He remained with him until Takumi had found a comfortable position propped up against the wall of the bath, moaning about how nice the water felt.

 

“Thank you for this,” he said to Leo as Leo moved to leave the room.

 

“You’re welcome, I’m only returning the favor, though.”

 

“Even so, this was very kind of you.”

  
At that, Leo glanced over his shoulder and gave Takumi a look that had blood rushing to his face. “Of course I would do something like this. After all, I am such a considerate husband, you’re _really_ lucky that you were married to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you once again for reading! the incredible art (that i'm still crying about ngl) was done by the amazing [nightingays](http://nightingays.tumblr.com/)!! she is so wonderful and talented /curls up 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed the chapter and do let me know what you thought! :D


	6. Note

hey all, i'm sorry this isn't an update, but i wanted to let anyone who is still reading this know that i am working on the next chapter, but things have been rather shitty for the past few months. my job got to be really toxic and i finally quit, however the job i was supposed to start after fell through and finding another one is taking way too long, and with everything going on writing has been incredibly difficult. it's been easier to just not focus on writing as much, but while it was impossible pretty much to write before it's gotten easier to get back into the writing mindset now, even though writing is ridiculously slow at the moment. i feel like once my job situation gets resolved and things finally settle down i'll be able to sit down and finally get the next chapter out. 

 

again, i'm really sorry it's taken this long, and will still be a while yet before i can update, but if you're still here, thank you for waiting. you're all awesome!


End file.
